Anathema
by Madam Facilier
Summary: For her whole life, little Hestia was raised by Sabertooth, cared for by everyone—but her own mother. It all changes one night when her long-absent father storms into the guild, demanding for the daughter he never knew he had. An oncoming custody battle threatens to rip her away from the only family she'd ever known. Sabertooth won't let her go, but Fairy Tail won't let her stay.
1. Chapter 1

**X788**

Clouds darkened; seconds later, rain pelted from the sky.

A young girl around the age of four sat alone in her room, twirling the hair of her doll around her finger while she watched the rain pour down. She was adorable: light pink hair was styled in short tube curls that reached her neck; a petite body dressed in a sailor outfit, complete with a skirt and a little cap; but her eyes reflected pain and sadness accumulated over months.

The door to her room opened and she tensed. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?" She relaxed when she heard the calming tones of her surrogate uncle. The girl got off her small chair. "Uncle Rufus?" she asked slowly. "Is...something wrong?"

"No!" The young blond man said too quickly. "No," he repeated, softly. "Nothing...nothing's wrong at all."

Normal children would have stopped there, but the girl wasn't normal, and she was far too intelligent for her age. She knew something was up at Rufus' initial denial. She knew the answer immediately. She held her doll close to her chest. "Is something wrong...with Mommy?"

Rufus flinched, as if the girl's question was aimed at him. She looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry," she apologized.

"No, no." The blond memory wizard knelt down and hugged the child. "You have done...nothing wrong. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for."

Ever since the day she was born—even as a baby—she could see her mother's suffering. She could see how much her mother tried to love her, but failed to give it to her. In the end, her mother could only reject her with her entire heart.

"I'm sorry," Rufus sobbed, trying to keep his tears in. "Your mother's case seems hopeless now. But...there is...one last thing. Master thinks she'll get better...if...if..."

"If?" the child asked, afraid to listen to the final option. But at the same time, she wanted to know.

"If she forgets you," he whispered, hoping she wouldn't hear. But he knew better: the girl was born with heightened senses, including hearing.

The girl stiffened in the teen's arms. She remembered all those sessions where Rufus helped suppress her mother's memories in an effort to end her depression, all her hysterical fits. Some were short, others lasted for a while. But in the end, her mother managed to remember again.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I never wanted to do this to you. But she has to forget the two of you if she's ever going to get better. I know it's hard...but if you love your mother...won't you help her?"

* * *

She wasn't supposed to listen in; she wasn't even supposed to see. But right now, the young girl peered around the door, trying to see her mother's face.

"I'll ask you one last time," she heard Rufus say to her mother. "Are you sure you want to forget?"

"Yes," her mother's voice snapped, irritable.

"You do realize what you are going to forget. Don't you have any regrets?"

From where she hid behind the door, she could see her mother's face. The girl wanted to believe that her mother would come to her senses and outright say no, because she loved her daughter. But one look at her mother reminded the girl why she was doing this.

Gone was her mother's beautiful form, her kind smile. What remained was a blond woman devoid of happiness. The structure of her bones stood out underneath her skin, making her appear gaunt. Her skin was an unhealthy white, waxy and dry. Her blond hair, once healthy and sleek, was now sleek and oily from neglect. But her eyes...they were filled with anguish and despair, like she suffered forever. Her eyes belonged to an insane person, not her.

She could see her mother's lips pull back in a maniacal expression. "The thing I regret the most," she shrilled, "is when I gave birth to that thing."

The girl retreated from the doorway, not wanting to hear anymore. But she bumped into something as she moved back. Looking up, she saw a dark-haired girl looking down at her sadly.

"...Anything else?" Rufus said, his voice forced and cracking.

"If I could change time...I wish I never went with him. I wish I never joined Fairy Tail!"

The girl began to cry; the older girl picked her up and held her close, hushing her quietly.

"...So be it," Rufus said softly, placing his hand on her eyes. He concentrated as he began to erase two people from her memories. "Forget."

His hand glowed blue; as he removed it, the blonde fell back, but not before Rufus caught her. "Minerva," he called to the door. "I know you're there."

Minerva placed the weeping girl back on the ground. "Go to your room, okay?" she said as she went to help Rufus.

Unable to take it anymore, the child ran. She tripped constantly, bumped into things and made some things fall and break, but that didn't deter her from her destination. She didn't know how she opened her door, especially when she was short, but she ran into her room and jumped into her bed, burying her face in her pillow as she sobbed. The door slammed behind her.

Now, she lay on her bed, wondering if she had done the right thing. Was it selfish of her, for her to not want her mother to forget her?

She stared at the picture of her mother on her bedside table, taken before all this misery happened. The frame glowed and floated over to her. She didn't think much of this as the picture frame plopped itself beside her. "Mama...I'm sorry."

**Author's note:**

**And I swore I wouldn't do a cliche story topic.**

**Ladies and gents, ****enchant****é**e. Madam Facilier has returned!

**I guess you guys liked Payback a lot, didn't you? So much, you guys even asked me to make a sequel to it. As flattered as I am, currently I am facing a giant writer's block with your requests, and my teachers at school will not lay off the homework. And also, my FIRST fanfic, Payback, was taken down. Yes, I am depressed; but no, I will not allow the Eliminators to knock me down.**

Yes, I know who you are.


	2. Hestia

**X792**

Blink.

Blink.

Blink blink.

"...Can I have the spoon already?" came the exasperated response.

Across the table, a spoon levitated from the tablecloth. It stayed like that for a second, then it sped like a torpedo towards the blonde dragon slayer. "Whoa!" The spoon slowed down, stopping just in front of the man before he plucked it out of the air. "Thanks, Hes."

"You're welcome, Sting-san."

"Is that all you can do? Just a spoon?" Orga wondered as Sting shoveled down his ice cream with Lector.

The person in question, a seven-year old girl with dark purple and white hair in a bun, looked at Orga, concentrating. The Lightning God Slayer's chair lifted six inches above the ground, with him in it. The man yelped in surprise as he rose higher and higher, but stopped just before the ceiling. "All right, all right! Uncle!" Orga admitted.

The girl narrowed her eyes as she focused on getting him down slowly. She'd already dropped too many things in haste, each ending with a bad result. It was never_ too_ bad, but once she had broken a valuable vase on top of former Master Jiemma's head. Now_ that_ was a disaster; thankfully she escaped punishment because some idiot barged into Crocus Gardens last year. Honestly, she didn't want to know what Orga would do if she dropped him.

Gradually, the chair with the Lightning God Slayer floated back to earth. Orga relaxed as he felt his seat on solid ground.

"Nice," Sting praised while Lector patted his chest. "You're getting better, Hestia. I think Orga was as heavy as this table."

"Hey!" Orga protested, pounding his fist on the wood. "I have muscles, that's why!"

"I think Orga-san was heavier than the table, though," the girl, Hestia, said.

Sting roared with laughter while Orga sulked in his seat. "As expected, Hestia's improving quickly!" Lector put in.

"Fro thinks so—too!" Suddenly, Frosch crash-landed on the table, alarming the occupants.

"Frosch!" Hestia scooped the frog-costumed Exceed into her arms, checking for injuries. "Fro, what happened?"

"Fro's head is hurting," Frosch mumbled, rubbing the head of his costume.

"Frosch is really clumsy," Lector noted, which earned him a disapproving look that made him bow his head.

"Lector!"

"Oh!" Frosch flew into the air, flapping his wings, rapidly. "Rogue and Fro were taking a stroll outside when we saw something! Then Rogue sent Fro in here to warn Tia-kun."

"About what?" Sting asked as he began to rise from his chair while Lector flew towards the nearest window.

"Rufus is on his way here!" Frosch finished.

"They're almost at the door, Sting-kun!" Lector informed, coming back from the window.

Sting sighed. "All right. We know the drill. Frosch, Lector."

Hestia nodded her head sadly as she got out of her seat. The Exceed flew themselves on either side of Hestia, escorting her up to her dorm room. But at the top of the staircase, Hestia climbed back down before hiding herself behind a pillar.

"Hestia!" Lector chided. At that moment, the doors to the guild opened for a blonde couple.

Hestia peered around the corner of her hiding place to look at the woman, who began to converse with Yukino. Healthy, shiny, and light shoulder length blonde was tied back in two pigtails. Her skin was healthy, devoid of imperfections. Warm brown eyes glowed with kindness and amusement. The two women laughed together; the blonde lady's dulcet voice appealed to Hestia, who smiled wistfully.

Frosch tried to pull Hestia back up the stairs, only to be stopped by Lector. The red-furred Exceed shook his head.

Rufus glanced around after his conversation with Rogue until his eyes landed on a head of purple and white hair behind a pillar on the upper landing of the stairs. Hestia poked her head out until she met eyes with Rufus. The two did a double-take, but Rufus gave her a sad but understanding smile.

Rufus motioned for her to go up. This time, Hestia went with the Exceed without a fuss. Yukino, on Sting's signal, led her fellow Celestial Wizard over to their library.

Sting exhaled. "Rufus," he said quietly. "Why do we have to do this to them?"

"Don't you remember, Sting?" Rufus relaxed into his armchair. "In order to keep her worst memories down...Even Hestia agreed that it was the best for her."

"But knowing that Hestia can never be with her mother again...and the fact that her mother willingly chose to forget her own daughter—" Rogue hung his cape on the coat rack before seating himself. "A story like theirs would bring a tear to anyone," he concluded.

"That was what Master Ji—former master Jiemma," Rufus corrected himself, "decided. Back when he actually cared...he decided it would be best if she forgot."

"But when she was so young—"

"If we had chosen when she was older," Rufus lamented, taking off his hat. "It would've been too late."

* * *

"But it's not fair, Lector," Frosch complained.

"Shh!" Lector sneaked a peek at Hestia, who sat on a stool while gazing at a fallen bookshelf from the day before. "We'll be back, Hes. We're gonna get food."

"Mh..." Hestia continued to stare at the bookshelf, not paying attention as they left the room.

The bookcase pushed itself off the ground, readjusting itself with a semi-loud thunk as it went back against the wall. Brown eyes narrowed at the books; novels picked themselves up and floated back to the shelves, arranging themselves in alphabetical order. Hestia frowned as one book quivered in its place, so she willed it to come to her.

On a Dark, Stormy Night

For eight years and still going, Sabertooth was her home. This was the only life she had ever known.

A life where her own mother could never see her.

_This is me._

_My name is Hestia Valorane._

**If anyone understands Esperanto, you can translate Hestia's last name. It's two words put together, but it should be easy.**


	3. Purgatory

**First Fairy Tail Building**

There was something off about the strongest guild of Fiore. Even after a year since their victory at the games, their rowdy vibe was absent.

Slightly.

"Popsicle!"

"Stuff it, Ashtray!"

"There they go...again," Levy sighed, trying to read her book in peace. She squeaked in alarm as Gray tossed a frozen table past Natsu, only to miss and for it to pass Levy and hit Gajeel, waking him from his nap.

"You idiots! You woke—!" The sight of an iron mallet battering whatever head it could reach silenced Levy. She ducked under her table just before a flaming chair could hit her. The bookworm sighed in relief, turning her head to her right. "That was close, wasn't it, Lu—" Levy's voice broke as she remembered the present, who was no longer here. "—chan..." Levy remained under the table for the remainder of the brawl, curled up with her knees to her chest.

"How long has it been, Mira-nee?" Lisanna asked her sister, the barmaid.

"...Seven and a half years," Mirajane replied glumly, handing her younger sister her drink. "That should be right." The always cheerful Take Over sibling tried to blink back tears but failed. "Seven and a half years...I still can't believe we did that to her." Tear droplets fell freely, shoulders shook. "I still can't believe she would commit suicide...when she was pregnant too..."

A great wave of guilt washed over Lisanna while she embraced her older sister, who began to bawl. Seven and a half years ago, Lisanna "came back to life"; in real terms, she just came back from Edolas. The long absent Take Over sister didn't expect Fairy Tail to throw a huge fuss over it. Just a lot of crying, a party here, and she would merge back in.

But Fairy Tail was known for their wild and reckless behavior; they went all out, partying their hearts out for days on end, everyday. She was always the center of attention for each and every one, with everyone's eyes on nobody but her. Except for one person, who always sat alone at the bar, either staring at the counter or casting a longing glance at the crowd, sometimes close to tears.

She wasn't a stranger—after all, how hard was it to miss the Fairy Tail symbol on her hand? But when she asked who she was, her name seemed to get lost on their tongues. After finally escaping the entourage to follow her home, she ended up comforting a crying Lucy in the park.

That was when Lisanna learned why Lucy was crying lately. Two months before the Edolas incident, Natsu and Lucy were dating. As soon as she heard that, she began to apologize profusely. "Mira-nee kept saying we would look cute together, I thought she meant Natsu was—!" Lisanna defended.

"Mirajane too?" Lucy had said sadly.

The next time they chatted, it was at the guild. That must have been the first time she had seen Lucy smile like she meant it. But the others seemed to find a problem whenever they hung out, so they used every excuse in the book to get them apart.

That was when the bullying started too.

Derogatory name-calling here, "accidental" shoves there; from their nature, Lisanna couldn't believe that this was Fairy Tail's definition of 'family'. The youngest Take Over sibling was amazed at how Lucy could just take it all on without retaliating; anyone would have snapped just from the first!

And that was Lisanna did. While the rest of the guild high-fived each other after Lucy left, she walked up to Natsu and slapped his laughing face.

When she did that, everyone was in shock. But she gave Natsu enough shock that should have paralyzed him. "Even Natsu Dragion is better than you," Lisanna said, disapproval dripping from her lips. "I can't believe Lucy put up with you before Edolas."

Lisanna had to admit to her own bewilderment when her guild just _suddenly_ remembered their Celestial Wizard and wailed that they weren't fit for redemption. So the next day, Lisanna went to Lucy's house to tell her the good news. But when she entered her apartment, she found Lucy crying on the bed, surrounded by three pregnancy tests, all reading positive.

The silver-haired mage could understand Lucy's panic attack: she was seventeen, about three months along, and not yet ready to become a mother. But Lucy also didn't want to give up on it. So they agreed that Lucy should head to the guild while Lisanna went out to buy a cake. She remembered being so happy for Lucy and Natsu as she told the baker to put 'Congratulations' on it.

It wasn't until directly after she learned what had happened that she decided to discard the cake—by tossing it, using Natsu's face as the perfect target, much to Erza's horror when she saw the ruined strawberry cake.

"...I'm gonna go burn some incense for her," Lisanna said, returning to the present.

"...Okay," Mirajane sniffled, allowing her sister to leave for the church.

* * *

**Lucy Heartfilia**

**July 1, X767—December 3, X784**

Near the edges of her tombstone were tiny but intricate designs of each of the keys she had possessed in life.

The sweet aroma of jasmine wafted though the air while Lisanna stood infront of the empty grave next to her 'grave'.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" she finally said. "Sometimes, I can't help but feel happy for you...and sad at the same time. You're in heaven...and the rest of us are in purgatory where we belong. But you know...I would've liked to see your child, too."

"So...what are you doing right now?"


	4. Sabertooth

_Slam! _Sting stopped what he was doing, looking at the clock. "Home already?"

"Here she comes," Rogue said as tiny feet pounded against the floor in a running gait.

"Sting-san! Rogue-san!" Hestia bounded into Sting's office and jumped into an armchair, her backpack somehow ended up on the floor. Lector and Frosch trailed after her, fatigued after trying to match the girl's enthusiastic speed.

"You're really hyper today. What's up?" Sting asked, catching Lector as the latter almost fell from the air.

"MrsaidIwasadvancinginmymagicsaidthatIshouldskipag radecanI—"

"Whoa!" Sting made a T with his hands. "Slow down, I couldn't even follow!"

"Sorry," Hestia panted. "I'm really excited."

"Deep breaths," Rogue reminded. "Now, what were you saying?"

Hestia went back for her backpack and rummaged around, spilling pencils, paper, and other supplies. Lector and Frosch smiled nervously at the growing mess. "Got it!" Hestia waved a light blue envelope like her own victory banner, grinning ear to ear.

"Well then..." Sting removed his feet from the top of the table and sat properly, holding his hand out for the letter. "Let's see what this bad boy has to say, shall we?"

* * *

**One year ago**

Hestia peered around the door, making sure to keep most of her body behind the structure in case someone looked in her direction.

"She's not here, remember?" A rough, commanding male voice reminded above her. The child jolted in alarm as a hand picked her up by the back of her jacket. Soon she was met by the eyes of Master Jiemma.

"M-Master!" Hestia squeaked nervously.

"No matter how many times you're told to stay away, you always seem to find a way to visit your mother," the old man growled in accusation. "Many years ago, I agreed to take in your mother, and inadvertently, you. But as long as you stay here, I expect you to live up to my expectations. Love is not welcome here."

"...Yes, master."

"Why is there hesitation in your voice?"

"Master...you say that...emotions are unneeded in Sabertooth, right?" Hestia asked.

Jiemma raised a foreboding eyebrow at her query. "Yes, I did say that."

"So then...what is that love...does to people?"

Hestia felt the grip on her jacket tighten as he walked away with her. For a moment, the girl believed that she would be flung out the window. But Jiemma instead placed her standing on a tall stool, leaving the girl to balance herself on the seat.

"That particular emotion...is a dangerous force. Put simply, it's disgusting," he spat as he sat down on a lounge chair. "Love is what makes people weak. Your mother became weak because, at one point in the life she no longer recalls, she loved your father. And because she loved that man, you resembled him, to remind her of that. Her weakness made it so that she couldn't stand the mere sight of you. Think about it: your mother would throw a fit if she even found a hint of your existence near her."

**Flashback:**

_Smash!_ Broken pieces of a vase landed near Hestia, who jolted in shock as her mother held her head, breathing unevenly. "M-mama?" the little girl asked in fear, trying to keep herself from shaking. "Mama, what's wrong?" But just one look in the eye confirmed the child's worst thoughts. She couldn't deny the happiness she felt when her mother actually held _her_, smiled at _her_, comforted _her_. But she knew, after so many failed memory sessions, that it wouldn't last forever.

"I-it's—all—your—fault!" her mother screamed at her. She continued to fling everything she could get her hands on at her own daughter. The child levitated a table before herself, creating a shield between herself and her mother.

"Get away from me!"

Hestia moved the table slightly off to the side, but ready in case she needed to defend herself. "But Mama, I'm your—!"

The sight of her only fueled her mother's anger as she took advantage of her child's lowered guard. The corner of a book hit Hestia's forehead, which made the girl drop the table as she fell, holding her bleeding temple.

Hestia was vaguely aware of the events that followed. Urgent feet made their way to the door, which broke from its hinges when a teenage Orga used his bulky build to knock it down, something no one complained about. A younger Sting pulled Hestia close to him. "Oi, Hes! Are you okay? Answer, please!"

"Tia-kun, don't die!" Lector cried.

"Sting, get her out of here! It's too dangerous for her!" Rufus commanded while Orga managed to hold Hestia's mother down.

**Flashback end**

Hestia nodded, darkness clouding her eyes. "Do you understand? Love makes people weak. It made your mother weak."

"It made her wish she never had me," Hestia finished in a dulled tone. "But when she forgot me...and my father...and her other guild...she became stronger."

Jiemma nodded in agreement. "Because love is a weakness. And I don't want you to share the weakness your mother once had. You've seen her, she's become a strong woman without it! Prove to me that you have no need for it!"

Hestia glanced at a porcelain vase on the table next to the master. She imagined her MIA father—who she always knew had pink hair, since her mother was blonde—who had created this whole mess. She imagined the vase as the unnamed jerk, visualizing him floating high above them before she would slam him back and forth from the floor to the ceiling. It was his fault that she had a mother that would never see her as a daughter, her daughter. She wanted him to pay.

With. His. Life.

The vase rose from its position, going higher and higher as Hestia used her Telekinesis to vent her anger towards her bastard of a father.

"That's it. Higher."

The ground shook violently, causing the stool that Hestia stood on to teeter. With her attention on trying not to fall over, she was unaware of the vase falling—and breaking against Jiemma's head. Hestia sweated nervously as the master radiated an annoyed aura. Jiemma brushed the remaining shards off of his headgear slowly, never breaking his gaze on her.

"Uh, master—"

"Master!" Rufus burst into the lounge room, panting heavily from the distance he ran. "Intruder!"

Hestia made a silent reminder to thank Rufus later. Jiemma frowned. "Who would dare to step into our territory?"

"It...it's...him," Rufus gulped. "The Salamander!"

* * *

**Present**

Sting set the letter down on the table. A wide grin crossed his face. "Well, Hes! Skipping a grade, how about that! I think that calls for a party, right Rogue?"

"This is a good reason to celebrate," Rogue agreed.

"Fro thinks so too!"

"And a big present," Lector added. "We need something to commemorate this!"

"Ah!" Hestia jumped in her seat. "That's I wanted to say too! I wanna go somewhere next week!"

"Sure. What is it?" Sting figured it wouldn't be so bad just to take the kid someplace. Staying cooped up in a guild except for school wasn't healthy for her.

Hestia produced a crumpled flyer from her pocket and passed it Sting. Rogue craned his neck over to see what was on it. A small picture of a dancer could be seen in the corner, and a lion tamer in another.

_June 1st—June 15th, X792_

_Starting from X:XX to 11:00PM at XXXX_

_Come one, Come all! Minstrel Circus comes to Fiore!_

_Fun rides! Food! Dazzling performances you won't want to miss!_

_Ticket prices—Adults 1,200 Jewels, Kids 750 Jewels_

_See programs for details_

"The legendary Minstrel Circus. Never thought I'd live to see the day they come to our country," Sting said in surprise.

"They're quite famous, what do you expect?" Rogue added. "There's so much demand for them that they have a waiting list of clients."

"They're in the country for two weeks," Lector noted. "How much did the king have to pay?"

"When do you want to go?" Frosch asked.

Hestia leaped from her chair and executed a pirouette. "Two days!" she answered, holding up two fingers.

"Opening day," Sting murmured, looking at the calendar. "That's always the busiest day, along with the finale." Sting sweated. "I wanna go too, though..."

"Sting-san, what's wrong?" Hestia asked.

"Sting-kun has a guild master's meeting on the same day," Lector explained, flying over to her. "Mandatory, so he can't miss it."

Hestia drooped in guilt. "Then...another—?"

Sting sprung back to life. "Nah, go ahead, Hes. I could go another day. Or I could come after the guild master's meeting. It always ends around three."

"And the train ride—" Both Dragon Slayers shuddered. "—from here to there is just an hour away. For you, it'll be one and a half," Rogue reminded Sting. "I don't see why we can't go."

"Good! Rogue, you're gonna take her with Yukino."

Hestia watched on in amusement as Rogue sputtered, light spots of pink on her face. "Wait, why Yukino—?"

"You guys are her guardians, remember?" Sting raised his eyebrow three times.

Before her mother forgot her, she agreed to sign a consent form for Hestia's custody. Basically, her mother gave her up for adoption. Soon, Hestia Valorane was under the custody of Jiemma. But when the disgraced master fled with Minerva, his daughter, the question of her custody came up again. So she could stay in the guild, Sting appointed Rogue and Yukino her guardians. Sure, Rogue was socially awkward while Yukino was as sweet as a mother would be, but they were still great guardians.

"Plus, I want to see a kid or two from you," Sting joked. Rogue fumed, comically, to be honest, while Hestia giggled her heart out.

No matter how dysfunctional Sabertooth was...they were still the best family!


	5. Heading Out

**June 1, 8:02 AM**

_Knock, knock, knock!_

Hestia woke at the noise, grumbling. "*yawn* Who is it?"

The door to Hestia's room opened from the outside. Yukino poked her head in. "Hestia?"

"Mh...Hi, Yukino-san," Hestia mumbled sleepily, landing with a thump on her feet as she pulled herself out of the warm bed. Yukino frowned, worry etched on her face as the purple-and-white haired child had to stand on her toes to reach the top of her dresser, which stood at four and a half feet.

Although Hestia was seven, her height said differently. Most children her age would be around four feet; Hestia, however, measured three foot three, which—according to Rufus, when he read a book with a height and weight chart in order to prove or disprove Orga's "muscle"—was the height of a four or five-year old. This was always a concern within Sabertooth; after all, Hestia had been behind in body growth ever since her birth. Hestia had long made up for this with her telekinesis, but she grew frustrated from time to time when one of Sabertooth's mages jokingly teased her about it.

Yukino tried to keep her composure when she saw Hestia's sleepiness-induced actions. "Um, Hestia... Your socks aren't supposed to go on your hands."

"Hm?' Hestia looked down, waking instantly when she saw her socks covering her hands like misshapen mittens. "Wah!" Hestia got her hands out of her socks, pulling them up over the correct body part. "I-is Rogue-san awake?" she asked, slightly embarrassed.

"He's waiting for us downstairs," Yukino said, waiting for her foster child to finish dressing correctly. "With Frosch, of course," she added. Not that it was necessary: Rogue and Frosch were rarely apart from each other.

Hestia spun around before the mirror, inspecting herself. Yukino knew that she had dressed for outdoor activity, since anyone would want to run off at the most famous circus group on Earthland. "Do I look okay?" Hestia asked her foster mother. She wore a lavender blouse with a light ribbon around her collar, dark blue shorts that reached her knees with a lighter blue band with a floral design, and sneakers. Yukino couldn't help but smile sadly inside: had things turned out differently, Hestia would be asking her birth mother that question.

Yukino brushed that thought away: now wasn't the time to mull over what could have been. "You look perfect, Hestia."

* * *

"Hestia!" Frosch exclaimed as Yukino and Hestia climbed down the stairs.

"Sh!" Lector hissed, pointing to the kitchen. The silhouettes of two people could be seen against the wall.

"Is something wrong?" Yukino wondered as Rogue's voice echoed from the empty kitchen.

"NO," Rogue's voice stated firmly. "We dyed her hair, changed her surname, everything just so_ she_ wouldn't remember. We made her give up enough, Rufus. Isn't it time we payed her back for that?"

"...Well, she did say she wanted to leave around noon," Rufus responded. "And the festival will be filled with people. The chances of us running into each other are almost zero."

"There we go," Rogue said in exasperation. "Was it so hard to compromise?"

"But a mother can recognize her own child's face. What if—?"

"It's been four years. Four years that she_ chose_ to give up."

Outside in the lounge, its occupants looked at each other. They knew who Rufus and Rogue were referring to.

_She_ was Rufus' girlfriend.

_She_ was the only other Celestial Spirit Wizard in Sabertooth.

_She_ was Hestia's flesh and blood mother.

The others glanced down at Hestia, who took interest in levitating an armchair. Yukino knew Hestia felt uneasy whenever the topic concerned her mother.

Rogue came out of the kitchen with a plate of toast. Yukino nearly did a double-take when she saw how Rogue dressed himself. Usually, Rogue resembled a dark knight without the armor. Today was the first time she had seen him in casual clothes: a loose v-neck green shirt, a jacket in a different shade of green, black pants, and brown boots. Combined with his messy hair, he looked like a bad boy.

An unbelievably _hot_ bad boy.

Rogue held out the plate for them. "There's better food at the festival, but we should still eat something."

Hestia and the Exceed immediately devoured the bread, but Yukino felt like she lost her voice. Her throat was dry, but her hands were sweaty. "You look nice today, Yukino," Rogue added.

"Wha—oh, thank you, Rogue-san," Yukino managed to keep herself from stammering. It was a simple outfit, consisting of a teal tank top and a darker teal miniskirt.

"Yukino? Is something wrong?"

Dry...Dry throat..."Oh!" Yukino ran back up the stairs. "I'm all right, I just forgot something!"

Hestia tilted her head in amusement as she chewed on her toast. "Does Yukino-san have a fever?"

"What makes you say that, Hestia?" Rogue inquired curiously.

Hestia put her toast out of its misery and swallowed. "Yukino-san's face was red and she was sweating a little. When I had a fever, I used to do that too!"

"Have," Rogue corrected.

"No, Hes. Yukino-kun's doesn't have a fever." Lector gobbled up his toast. "Shief in wuf," he mumbled.

Rogue didn't fume, but his cheeks were starting to show light shades of pink. "What?" Hestia asked.

Frosch scratched his head. "Fro think's Lector said 'She's in love'!"

"Exactly!" Lector swallowed his small breakfast. "Yukino and Rogue are in love with each other!"

"Lector..." Rogue shook, barely able to restrain himself from strangling the annoying cat that belonged to his best friend and guild master.

"They just don't wanna say it 'cause they're too shy!" Lector finished.

"I'm back!" Yukino raced down the stairs with Hestia's satchel, a large and a small slicker, and an inhaler.

When Hestia was younger, Sting noticed that she had difficulty breathing. They all tried to reason that the stress she was going through with her mother was the problem. But that logic was flawed: Hestia had trouble breathing since she was two. As soon as she began to cough up bloody mucus, they knew something was wrong. Very wrong: Hestia had asthma that went unnoticed for nearly two years.

"If we go now, we'll be able to watch the Marina Acrobats," Yukino explained, fitting the smaller slicker on Hestia before placing the satchel across the girl's shoulders, adjusting the strap. "From the rumors I've heard, we're likely to become wet."

"Should we make sure we have everything?" Lector reminded.

"Sunglasses?"

"Check," Rogue answered.

"Wallets?"

"Yes," Yukino replied.

"Money _in_ your wallets?" Lector rephrased.

"Check."

"Inhaler?"

"Usual and emergency."

Frosch tried to hide his laughter. "Does Rogue like Yukino?"

"Yes," Rogue answered. Yukino blushed; Hestia and the Exceed giggled. Rogue froze, realizing what he had just agreed to. "Frosch!"

"Nice one, Fro!" Lector and Frosch high-fived each other, flying high above so Rogue couldn't catch them.


	6. Enjoy!

"What's that?"

"That's the mountain range."

"And that?"

"...I forgot."

"Worth Woodsea."

Yukino smiled as the Exceed and Hestia engaged in a game to see who knew their geography more. Currently, Lector was in the lead with Frosch in second and Hestia beginning to catch up. At least it did something to pass their time; Rogue fell asleep the moment they got on the train so he wouldn't have to endure the wrath of motion sickness.

"What about that giant wheel?"

"That's a Ferris Wheel! We're almost there!"

The Exceed flew around the compartment in excitement while Hestia clapped her hands with joy. Yukino cleared her throat to get their attention; she pointed to Rogue, who looked like he was beginning to stir. The Exceed sat back down on either side Hestia, and all three resigned to bouncing in their seat.

"Come to think of it," Lector said quietly, "even though this is the second fair you're going to, this is the first one you're actually_ allowed_ to go to."

"Fro remembers too!" Frosch added.

Yukino frowned inwardly while Hestia and the Exceed of Sabertooth began to discuss as quietly as they could what they would do and where they would go once they arrived at the carnival. Even now, it worried the Celestial Spirit wizard just how much Minerva and Jiemma influenced Hestia when she was under their custody. Knowing the father and daughter, Hestia was probably raised to believe that power was everything. Seeing Hestia's face alight with happiness, Yukino wondered how much they deprived her of a normal childhood.

* * *

"We're almost there, Natsu. I can see the Ferris Wheel." But at the mention of the ride's name, Natsu's face became greener.

"It's no use. Lucy was the only one who made him feel better during these rides," Happy said.

"Those two were so close," Gray acknowledged. "Now because of his idiocy, this is his punishment."

"But Natsu and Lisanna were close when they were children," Erza disagreed, biting into her cake. "Lisanna should be able to comfort Natsu like Lucy did."

That was the last straw for Lisanna. "Well then, I'm _so_ sorry to disappoint you, Erza! But in case you haven't noticed, I can't be who you want me to be!" she admonished. Everyone except for Natsu looked at her, startled that she would raise her voice. "I'm Lisanna; Lucy was Lucy! I can't and I never will be a replacement for her! If you hadn't tried to replace Lucy, we wouldn't be suffering like this!"

_Was this how Lucy felt?_ Lisanna thought. _When everyone else ignored her, when they replaced her? Did she feel inferior?_

Gray broke the ice. "Sorry, Lisanna. We didn't mean it like that."

"Aye. You're not a replacement," Happy added.

Erza finished off her cake and set the plate down. "I apologize for making you feel that way, Lisanna. For doing this to you, you may hit me as hard as you wish."

Lisanna sweated. "I don't think that's necessary, though."

"L-Lucy," Natsu mumbled in his sick state. He wished the Celestial Spirit wizard were here to tell him it would be all right. Even though he didn't deserve her.

He didn't mean to ignore her like that; he was just so excited to see Lisanna again that he stopped spending time with Lucy. And then he just..._forgot_ about her. He wanted Lisanna all to himself, to the point that he forgot about his girlfriend. Natsu could only imagine how lonely she felt, how much Lucy felt like a broken toy that no one wanted to play with...until they wanted to 'play' with the toy again by subjecting it to free-falls and other types of abuse, breaking it even more. He didn't know what came over him, but he knew that at the time, he thought Lucy was going to take Lisanna away from him. Looking back on it now, he acted like a complete jerk. What kind of guy would treat his girlfriend like that? He called her things that she wasn't, injured her—

And drove her to kill herself.

Natsu regretted that day the most. He was supposed to apologize to her, welcome her back with open arms. Instead he rejected her because of two words: _I'm pregnant_. Back then, he thought Lucy had hooked up with another guy to get over him and thought she was after the money. But when Lisanna arrived with the cake, the damage had been done: Lucy was gone. Forever. He supposed he did deserve to have a cake thrown at his face. The sweet cake cake had never been more bitter.

The train came to a halt. "We have now arrived at our destination."

* * *

"Race you to the entrance, Hes!" Lector laughed as he sped off.

"Wait for Fro!" Frosch said, flying in pursuit.

"Meanies! You guys are faster!" Hestia protested as she ran after them.

"Wait, Hestia!" Yukino called out, worried that Hestia would induce an asthma attack.

"Let them go," Rogue said simply, walking beside Yukino. "It's natural that she would want to run off. This is the first time she actually gets to enjoy herself."

This didn't reassure Yukino; it only added onto her suspicions about Jiemma and Minerva.

"Rogue-kun! Yukino!" Lector waved to them from the admission booth, where they stood waiting. "Come on! The Marina's gonna start any minute!"

Rogue and Yukino hurried over to the booth; Rogue had his wallet out in a flash, with 3,200 Jewels in his hand when the woman said, "Family price is 2,500 Jewels."

"Huh?" Then the Sabertooth wizards realized how they appeared to the woman running the booth. They were Hestia's guardians in title, but they had never been seen as her parents in public. Yukino did suppose Hestia's hair color had something to do with it. However, Hestia was too old for Yukino to be her mother. "Oh, no—you see, she's my niece," Yukino lied frantically, trying to clear up the age factor.

The woman simply smiled at them. "But you do make a cute family."

Yukino blushed lightly while Rogue handed the woman 2,500 Jewels. She put away the money and handed over a receipt and a map. "Enjoy!" the lady called to them. Soon the group merged into the crowd. It looked like the entire country had come for the opening day.

"That...was awkward," Yukino admitted.

"Come on! We gotta find the Marina Underwater Group!" Lector cried, flying around. "They're gonna start any minute!"

"Where are they?" Hestia wondered.

"According to the map," Rogue muttered, walking around, "they should be right...here." Rogue looked up from the map to find a large pool of water before him.

"It's...empty," Frosch said sadly.

"_Contraire_, my friends!" In the middle of the giant man-made lake, water rose up from the surface, coalescing into the form of a man. Then the water melted away to reveal a real man underneath. Rogue was convinced that the man could have passed for Rufus' twin if it weren't for the short purple hair.

The ringmaster of the Marina Underwater Group cleared his throat and shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! I give you—The Marina Underwater Show!"


	7. Showtime

As soon as the first spray of water went up, people gathered around the man-made lake.

The ringmaster made a sweeping motion with his arm: a wall of water shot into the air, creating a foamy curtain between him and his audience. The crowd made sounds of awe at the spectacle; a fine mist showered the people near the edge lightly. The watery curtain fell, but the ringmaster was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? Where did he go?" Hestia asked.

Lector shook his head and pointed a paw at the center. "Look!"

Two dorsal fins broke the surface; most of the audience backed away, thinking they were sharks. But a pair of dolphins breached the water, meeting in the middle of their jump before diving back in. The dorsal fins appeared above the surface again; this time they circled each other, as if the dolphins were chasing each other. Within the circle, a small whirlpool formed. The dolphins picked up their speed; the whirlpool grew larger in response. The water-dwelling mammals broke away, diving back down as the whirlpool spun—up.

"Whoa!" Frosch exclaimed.

The spiraling vortex continued to rise until a human-sized water cyclone spun on the surface like a top, perfectly balanced. The dolphins breached once more; at the same time, the water top dispelled, revealing a young man with deep blue hair.

High above the man, the dolphins appeared to have collided with each other. But instead of falling, they merged as one. As the crowd wondered what was going on, the lone dolphin's outward appearance changed. The fluke split into two legs; pectoral fins slimmed into pale arms with hands; clothes took the place of dolphin skin. In the dolphin's place was a silver-haired man as young as his colleague below.

About to hit the water, the man reversed his position so that his feet hit the water first. His right foot touched the surface; using his other foot, the boy dragged the side of his shoe against the water as he spun on the surface, sending sprays of water into the air. The audience applauded as the silver-haired dancer spun sharply, creating a wall that blocked him from view. When the wall fell, the boy was now dressed in a costume that was almost identical to the ringmaster's, save for the jester hat on his head.

The silver-haired boy whistled loudly, causing his colleague to look at him questioningly. Small orbs of water appeared in the former dolphin's hands as he juggled them. Somehow, he managed to toss one water orb at the blue-haired man, who caught it, taking a step back. The jester continued to pass orbs to his fellow performer until he tossed the last one back and forth between his hands while the other man juggled the watery spheres. The latter managed to fit the last water orb in—but another orb escaped and fell into the center of the lake.

As soon as the water orb entered the lake, a watery stem protruded from the surface, a 'bud' on top. The 'bud bloomed into a large rose—with a beautiful lady seated in the center of the 'flower'.

"Wow! So cool!" Hestia cried.

Some of the men in the crowd whistled appreciatively at the woman's entrance.. The jester extended a hand to the woman, who took it graciously as she stepped down from her seat. Yukino and Rogue heard the crowd shift behind them as some members shoved their way to the front.

"Hey, cut it out!" Someone snapped behind them.

"You have a wife, remember!" Another interjected.

"Yeah, make room for the single guys!"

Rogue shook his head in disgust as the majority of the men in the crowd fought just to get a better look at the female performer. Really, these men were worse than—

"Hey!" Lector yelled indignantly as a man being dragged unsuccessfully by the ear by his wife shoved them out of the way, oblivious to the fact that he had just taken Hestia's spot—and shoved her towards the water.

"Hestia!" The Sabertooth wizards called out in panic.

"Hes!"

"Tia-kun!"

"Whoa!" Hestia heard the splash as she fell. What struck her odd was how the water felt furry between her fingers, and how she was able to breathe. She opened her eyes and saw that she was still above the water; what she landed on was the back of a large beaver. Yukino sighed in relief.

"Wait, what's it doing with Hes?" Lector asked.

The beaver drifted towards the performers, keeping Hestia dry on its back. Once the beaver stopped, the lady helped Hestia up to her feet. No longer supported by the beaver, Hestia stared at the lake when she saw that she was standing on water.

"And what's your name?" the female performer asked.

"H-Hestia," the child said nervously.

"Well, Hestia, you're going to help us," the jester said.

"Wha—?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a volunteer!" The jester shouted in a clear voice. "For our next act, Hestia will enter this glass box—" The 'flower' melted into the shape of a box, its walls made entirely out of glass, but opaque on the inside. "—and she must escape from it, without the use of brute force!"

"That's your cue," the lady whispered, leading her over to the box before she helped the girl into it.

"B-but I don't know how to get out—"

"Just sit tight," were her final words before she closed the doors.

"Will she really be okay in there?" Yukino asked worriedly. "In a space like that—"

"She has her inhaler in her bag," Rogue said, though he too looked concerned.

"But Hes is really lucky," Lector added. "She gets to be part of the show."

"Fro thinks so too!"

"We know what you're thinking," the jester announced. "Anyone could get out of this box. But this—" He tapped the glass container."—is locked shut. And, to make things interesting, Hestia has only ten seconds to escape before my partner—" He motioned to the juggler. "—destroys the box!"

"The pressure's really on," Lector gulped. "I hope Hes makes it out."

"Fro agrees," Frosch said.

Inside, Hestia heard the jester count down as she felt the lining of the box, unable to find an opening of any kind. How did they expect her to escape? _"'Just sit tight,'"_ had been the lady's words. "Five! Four! Three! Two!" Suddenly, Hestia felt herself falling through a dark vertical tunnel and into someone's arms.

"One!" The jester shouted. The juggler stopped juggling the water orbs, instead spinning a finger in circles. Before him, the orbs he juggled with mimicked his actions, picking up their speed. He pointed his index finger at the box. "Water Bullets!" All at once, the water orbs struck the box relentlessly, tossing water into the air.

"Hestia!"Yukino cried.

A rainbow appeared in the air, beginning where the box once stood. "Not only did Hestia escape from the box, but she made a beautiful rainbow!" The jester threw his left arm into the air, gesturing to the center. "Let's give her a round of applause for a job well done!"

A circular platform made from water rose until it reached the same height as the jester's; another platform slightly smaller than the first surged upwards until it reached the same height, before a smaller tier ascended from it. As the tiers continued to appear, Lector and Frosch gasped as the identity of the watery structure made itself known: they were looking at a giant water fountain, The performers thrust their hands out so that they faced the geyser. The entire water fountain glowed with pink light for a moment before seamlessly blending into red, earning applause from the crowd.

"Hey, look!" Lector shouted, pointing towards the rising tiers.

The final water tier exalted high above the audience; the ringmaster stood proudly on top, perching Hestia on his right shoulder. Hestia gasped in awe at the view: from here, she could see the entire festival! She tilted her head in confusion at the sight of some people entering and exiting a tent, laden with fireworks in their arms.

Down below, Rogue could see the ringmaster say something to Hestia, who said something in response, but he couldn't hear what they were saying due to the rushing water fountain.

* * *

As the crowd dispersed with the end of the performance, some sections of the fountain ceased motion, creating steps for the ringmaster to climb down. The steps ended where Rogue and Yukino stood with Lector and Frosch. The ringmaster set Hestia down before her guardians. "I hope you didn't mind that we used your daughter as part of our performance," he said, bowing to the Sabertooth wizards.

"Wha—oh no, we didn't mind," Yukino said. "We are glad that you didn't let her fall into the water."

"Say..." The jester took off his hat, shaking his messy silver hair. "You look a bit too young to be her mother. Unless you're taking _really_ good beauty products, I'd say you're nineteen or twenty."

"I—"

"She's Hestia's aunt," Rogue lied smoothly for Yukino.

"Ah." The silver-haired man nodded his head in understanding. "Makes much more sense."

_*Gurgle*_ The jester looked at his stomach and laughed. "Looks like all that excitement made me hungry!"

_*Gurgle*_ The same noise emanated from Hestia's stomach, which made the jester ruffle Hestia's hair. "You too, huh?"

"Guess we all need a lunch break," Lector shrugged.

"We don't have another performance until nine," the blue-haired man noted, checking a digital clock near a signpost. "We can all have lunch before we rehearse for the encore."

"See ya, Hestia!" The silver-haired man called, waving.

Hestia turned around and waved back. "Thank you!"

"Hestia," Rogue said. "What did the ringmaster tell you during the show?"

Hestia tilted her head. "He said that the show looked better at night—and there would be fireworks too!"

*_Gurgle_* Lector's stomach grumbled, which made him rest on Hestia's shoulder. "A good show can really distract you from an empty stomach," he muttered.

*_Gurgle_* Frosch sat on Rogue's shoulder. "Fro thinks so too," he mumbled.

Rogue couldn't help but smile at the trio as he searched the map for the nearest concession stand.

* * *

"Those Marina people were really something, weren't they?" Lisanna said to the group.

"Juvia could do better," Juvia interjected. "But only for Gray-sama," she swooned, hearts in her eyes.

"Where the hell did you come from?!" Gray exclaimed.

"That train ride made me hungry—" Natsu stood up straight, sniffing the air. "This scent..."

"Huh?" Everyone else looked at Natsu. "Natsu?" Happy asked.

"It smells delicious...and familiar...like..."

"Like what, Ashtray?' Gray questioned.

"Barbecue fire!" Gray and Lisanna fell on their faces, dumbstruck as Natsu ran towards the source of the smell. "Happy, come on!"

"Aye!"

* * *

Lector gobbled up his grilled fish happily while Frosch did the same with his. Hestia, on the other hand, enjoyed munching on some tempura shrimp and octopus. The sun glared down at them in the afternoon sky; Rogue tried to use the map as a shield from the sun. Unfortunately, that meant he couldn't see the bulky man he bumped into just then. "Sorry—"

"I thought that was you, Rogue!" The Shadow Dragon Slayer looked up to see the hulk that was Orga Nanagear. "You're the only guy I know who hates afternoons!"

"Nice to see you, Orga," Rogue greeted, sitting down at a table with a parasol.

"Same here. Yukino," he acknowledged.

"Orga-san," Yukino returned.

"Orga-san!" Hestia exclaimed. "You're here too?"

"As if I would miss the best circus in all of Earthland, squirt!" Orga perched Hestia on his shoulder. "In fact, I think the entire guild's here too! I already saw a bunch of our guys, including Dobengal and his little sister—"

"From Lamia Scale?" Rogue asked. "Shouldn't we have a reason to be worried?"

Orga waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, I think they're getting along. Then again..." Orga cupped his chin, frowning in concern. "I did see them near the—"

"Big puffy plushies!" Frosch squealed.

"Where?" Hestia asked, searching wildly until she found what looked to be a round, beach ball-like cat near a stand filled with similar dolls. "Orga-san, let's go!" she ordered, pointing to the fat cat doll.

"All right, all right!" The Lightning God Slayer chuckled, following Frosch towards the stand. Rogue and Yukino, who carried Lector, trailed after them. Rogue stopped in his tracks as he saw where the plump plushies were located: a _game_ stand.

"For one hundred Jewels, you get three shots with these," the man running the stand explained, setting a gun and three tennis balls on the counter. He pointed to the target. "Knock that down, and you get the prize of your choosing."

"Do you want to try, Hestia?" Yukino asked, holding one hundred Jewels in her hand. Hestia scanned the prizes with her eyes until she found a round fluffy ivory-furred bear. The Telekinetic child nodded, determination blazing in her eyes.

The money changed hands in exchange for the equipment. Orga placed a hand on Yukino and Rogue's shoulders. "We might wanna step back," he suggested. Rogue found no reason to disagree; Yukino couldn't help but wonder why as she followed suit. "This reminds me of the very first time Hestia played this game," Orga chuckled. Rogue smiled nervously.

"What happened?" Yukino asked.

Rogue cast her a vague look as he looked around. "We will not speak of it here," he said darkly.

Whatever happened the first time...from Rogue's behavior, Yukino was convinced that they had done something illegal.


	8. Time's Toll

_What did they do?_ Yukino wondered as she watched her best friend's daughter—who was also Yukino's foster daughter—stand on the counter to make up for the height difference between herself and the target. Frosch stood next to her, guarding the ammo.

"You have to knock it all the way back, and it can't come back up," the vendor explained, pointing to the target Hestia would have to shoot at. "If it bounces back up, it doesn't count."

Frosch handed over the first bullet; Hestia loaded the first tennis ball into the gun and blasted it out at the target: a small, flat cut-out metal Wyvern. The bullet bounced off the Wyvern harmlessly. "Two more," he said.

"Why doesn't she go ahead with it?" Lector whispered to Rogue.

"She wants to confirm something," Rogue hissed back quietly.

_Confirm what?_ Yukino thought. Frosch gave the little girl the next ball, watching her aim at the base of the Wyvern and recoiling as the bullet soared. It slammed into the slim metal stem of the Wyvern target; the impact made the target rock back and forth before it sprung back into place.

"It's weighted," Yukino heard Rogue say.

"Third time's the charm?" the vendor encouraged.

"Third time's the charm indeed," Orga muttered under his breath, but Rogue was able to catch his words.

Frosch gave the final bullet to Hestia. But instead of loading it in, Hestia inspected the gun as if she were looking for something. The vendor peered over, worried that something was wrong. Hestia handed the weapon over to him. "Could I have a different gun? I think the button is jammed."

Frosch stuck his paw in the air, vouching for his friend. "Fro thinks so too."

The vendor took the gun and inspected it. "There's nothing wrong with it, kiddo. You probably pulled the trigger too hard."

"But can I get a different one?" Hestia asked sweetly.

The man running the stand shook his head. "All the guns are the same; it won't make a difference."

"So can I have one then?"'

The man sighed and ducked under the counter for a moment before he came back up with an identical shooter. But during that brief instance of absence, Yukino could have sworn that she saw a light radiate from the ball before vanishing just as quickly. Orga snickered as quietly as he could while Hestia loaded her final bullet into the gun. Frosch watched her eyes zero in on the target before the gun aligned with the Wyvern.

Even Rogue had difficulty keeping up with the speed when Hestia pulled the trigger. He seriously doubted that Rufus would be able to accurately remember a green tennis ball flying at the speed of light, either.

The Wyvern target broke off from the stem, clattering against the ground. The merchant gaped at the damage done to the target while Hestia and Frosch stood by, the former possessing an innocent look.

Rogue nearly doubled over in amusement; that is, if Orga hadn't elbowed him as a reminder that the vendor might get suspicious. Although the Lightning God Slayer looked as though he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing. Lector even bit his paw!

The vendor, unable to go back on his word, had no choice but to give Hestia the prize of her choice: the plump white bear plush.

"Thank you~!" Hestia sang, jumping down from the counter. Frosch followed suit, landing on her head.

Frosch poked at the bear doll curiously. "It's so squishy!"

"I knew Sting and I went right somewhere during her growth," Orga sighed, shaking his head with pride as they followed after the child and Exceed. Lector flew ahead of them to congratulate Hestia.

"Orga." Yukino walked ahead and spun around, facing the Sabertooth men. "You knew," she accused. "You knew that Hestia put her magic in that ball."

"Yeah." Orga trotted past her while Rogue urged her forward. "But hey! That target was weighted! Can you really blame her?"

"You and Sting—when?"

Orga sighed. "Three years ago..."

* * *

**Flashback: X789**

The door to Hestia's dorm opened slowly. Sting and Lector poked their heads in before the latter looked behind them. Lector gave his partner an okay sign, allowing Sting to creep into the room as quietly as he could before nudging Hestia's sleeping figure. "Hes? Hes, wake up."

"Mmhmuh..." Hestia rolled in her sleep, pulling the blanket closer to her. Sting shrugged before he beckoned Lector over. The red Exceed stood next to her ear; taking a deep breath, he bent down and basically screamed in her ear, "Wake up, Tia-kun! Master's coming in five seconds!"

Hestia jolted in shock before she accidentally fell out of bed. Sting rubbed his ears. "My poor ears," he murmured.

Hestia jumped to her feet. "I'm awake, Master—!" She stopped, looking around in confusion. "Where's Master?"

"I lied," Lector deadpanned. "Master's out at a meeting."

"You didn't have to yell that loudly," Sting complained, sticking a finger in his ear. "You could have gotten us caught."

"But Master's not here, and the miss is out on a week-long job."

Sting glanced at the doors before he leaned in close to the two. "They have their spies," he whispered. "Hurry, Hes. Get dressed."

"What's happening?" she asked.

It was Lector's turn to lean in real close. "We're going on an adventure."

* * *

Sting poked his head out of Hestia's room to make sure that the coast was clear. He understood that Master was her legal guardian now—which made the lady Hestia's older sister—but what he knew that Master drew the line too far. Even before he adopted her, Hestia had never set a foot outside the guild. But to restrict her from the outside world except for school was too much!

Of course, Sting couldn't do a thing about it. Master Jiemma was Hestia's guardian, and she was his to raise as he saw fit. Sting was glad that Master didn't abuse her like her mother did during her fits, but he did not approve of his keeping Hestia locked away. He had to do something.

And what he was doing was basically treason: Sting wasn't supposed to interfere with Jiemma's methods of raising her.

"Sting-kun, we're ready," Lector informed. Sting nodded and opened the door a bit more.

"Coast is clear. Just be really quiet, we're not supposed to do this," Sting hissed softly as they tread carefully.

"So why are you doing it?" Sting swore under his breath as he wheeled around to face the resident God Slayer. "If Master doesn't approve, aren't you basically asking for the boot?"

"Master's out today and he won't be back till five," Sting said through his teeth.

"What about the lady?"

"She's gonna be gone for a week."

"So how do you know I'm not keeping an eye on Hestia for them?" Orga asked.

Sting glanced around. "Orga...you've been here practically since Hestia was born. You babysat her even before Master became the guild master. She looks up to you as a big brother, and I know you wouldn't do a thing to make her cry. Now, if you're trying to scare me into chickening out, it ain't working."

Orga stood silently for a minute, before a smile slowly made itself known. "Just testing you," he said. "But you know what this means," he reminded, taking on a serious demeanor. "We can't be caught."

"We?" Lector questioned.

Orga went back into his dorm and came back out fully dressed. "Someone's got to keep an eye out for the master."

* * *

"Waah..." Little Hestia gasped in awe. So this was what the outside looked like. The afternoon sun provided her warmth while a gentle breeze would cool her. She took a deep whiff of the air: fresh smell of grass; the earthy scent of the town garden, and the delicious aroma of food assaulted her nose all at once. Hestia coughed a little, overwhelmed by the new smells. Lector patted her back, trying to be helpful. "Breath slowly," he suggested.

"Well, here we are!" Sting exclaimed, spreading his arms wide in presentation. Several stalls had been set up, with many people gathered near whatever place appealed to them. "What do you wanna do, Hes?"

Hestia looked around, unsure of herself. She'd never been outside before, so she didn't know what people did exactly. She knew some of the kids at school played outside, but her asthma was so severe, she couldn't play with them.

A cute bunny plush caught her eye. "That!" she said, pointing to the doll.

Sting glanced at the stall it belonged to, grinning. "Perfect."

They approached the game stand, where a slim metal Vulcan served as the target that Hestia would have to knock down. Sting paid for the ammo and the gun that Hestia would shoot with.

The first two balls bounced off the target without so much as making it move. "Hes, can I see something?" He took the gun and the final ball from the child and held the gun back to the vendor. "Can we get a different gun?"

"They're all the same. It won't change a thing," the vendor said irritably.

"So in other words, we can get another one."

The man sighed before he took the gun back from Sting. While he was under the counter, Sting looked at Hestia and pressed a finger to his lips. Hestia wondered why when she saw the ball glow lightly. The vendor came back with another gun and passed it to Sting, who loaded the last ball in. "Watch how it's done, Hes."

As soon as Hestia blinked, the metal Vulcan shattered from the impact of the magically powered ball.

"And _that_ is how it's done," Sting said, spinning the gun around in his hand like the actors in those Western movies. He even went as far as to blow on the top of the gun.

* * *

**Present**

Yukino gaped at Orga, scandalized. "You taught her how to cheat?"

"No," Rogue said. "_They_ taught her 'essential life skills when you know the game is rigged'," he quoted Sting's exact words.

"When she was five?"

"Four and a half," Orga corrected.

"How could you?!"

"For your information, the guy cheated too!" Orga defended. "We just...evened the odds. And may I add that at the time, Hestia _never_ set a foot outside the guild, other than school?"

"How long has she been cheating?"

"To be honest: this is only Hestia's first time."

Yukino opened her mouth to call Orga out for lying—_ "'Come to think of it, even though this is the second fair you're going to, this is the first one you're actually allowed to go to.'"_ Lector's words during the train ride chose that moment to echo in her mind.

_"'And may I add that at the time, Hestia never set a foot outside the guild, other than school?'"_

"...Even her?" Yukino asked sadly, referring to Hestia's mother.

Rogue nodded. "Even—where's Hestia?" Yukino's blood ran cold when saw that, to her horror, Hestia and the Exceed were nowhere to be seen._  
_

* * *

Natsu patted his stomach in content. "Barbecue fire's the best, isn't it?"

"Aye sir!" Happy agreed, flying beside his best friend.

"I wonder where Stripper and Erza went off to," Natsu said, looking around. "They just left us on our own."

"Hehe...yet you were the one who left first," Happy muttered.

A flaming baton spun in the air, catching Natsu's attention. "Happy, look! A fire show! Let's watch!"

"Natsu, don't eat the flames!" Natsu ran off like an excited kid when he bumped into a woman.

"Excuse me!" Her voice cried indignantly.

"You're excused," Natsu said, turning around when he received the shock of his life. The woman he ran into had already walked off, but he could still see her blond pigtails waving with each step she took. A pouch was attached to her belt, but inside, Natsu could hear faint jingling almost as if she were carrying bells in there.

Or, perhaps,_ keys._

"Lucy?"

* * *

"Uh-oh," Hestia mumbled. "Rogue-san and Yukino-san won't be happy about this."

"We should have paid attention to where we were going," Lector said, flying above with Frosch.

"Rogue won't get mad," Frosch added, glancing in every direction.

"I think I see them!" Lector exclaimed. "Stay here, Hes! We'll be right back!"

Hestia watched her Exceed friends fly off to where she presumed Rogue and Yukino were. "Why can't I go with you guys?" she complained, stamping her foot.

"Um, are you lost?" A woman's voice asked from behind. Hestia spun around; Lisanna stood before her.

Hestia could recall last year's games with ease, so she knew that Lisanna was part of Fairy Tail. On the first day, she lost against Flare Corona from Raven Tail, and was brutally beaten by Minerva on the fourth. Hestia harbored no ill will towards the woman; it was Fairy Tail that she had a problem with.

Hestia shook her head. "I'm not lost. I'm waiting for someone."

"All alone?" Lisanna asked. There was something about this girl that pulled a familiar chord. She knew those big brown eyes from somewhere, and there was something about her nose...

"Hestia?" Lisanna's ears twitched in recognition at the voice. She looked at the owner and did everything she could to keep herself from gaping at the woman: Lucy. She looked older—understandable, as she hadn't been caught in the time-skip like her. "You're Yukino's niece, aren't you?" she asked.

Hestia smiled widely; Lisanna forced herself to hold her gasp. Hestia's eyes were the same as Lucy's, as well as her nose. "Yup, that's me!"

"Is your mother here today?"

"She is," Hestia started. "But I wanted to wander around."

"I see. But...Hestia...Wandering off like that...won't your mother get worried?' Lucy inquired.


	9. Irruption

**Bonjour, mes amis! Madam Facilier is here!**

**I know an author's note is not the best way to start a chapter, but I noticed a little goof in this story that made me retype some parts of some chapters.**

**The goof: Hestia's age. I originally made Hestia eight years old, close to eight and a half. She's really seven and a half years old.**

**How? You may ask.**

_But—isn't Lucy...Hestia's mom?_ Lisanna thought, shocked to see Fairy Tail's former Celestial Spirit wizard alive before her. The last time she saw Lucy was seven and a half years ago, before the Take Over mage went to get a cake made for her and Natsu. Before her now apparent 'suicide'.

When Lucy was talking to Hestia about her mother, Lisanna thought that it was some kind of joke of theirs. But this...

Lisanna thought she saw Hestia's smile crack when she addressed Lucy. "You're right. I'm sorry," she apologized, bowing to Lucy. "I'll go find Mama soon."

Lucy nodded. "Yes. Go straight to your mother. And try not to wander off again."

"I will," Hestia answered with a sad look, something Lisanna didn't understand.

Lisanna thought that Lucy would recognize her and make small talk with her. But Lucy walked away from Hestia and Lisanna without a second glance; the latter could see the symbol of Sabertooth on the blonde's right hand, not the pink insignia of Fairy Tail that was once there.

Lisanna didn't understand what just went on: a guild member who she thought to be dead was alive, and the child next to her bore some of her physical characteristics. But Lucy didn't seem to recognize Lisanna or the girl she now knew as Hestia. Lisanna thought she was giving her the cold shoulder—which was understandable. If Lisanna had been in Lucy's position, she'd want to ignore Fairy Tail too. But Lucy gave the same treatment to the child that resembled her. What kind of mother ignores their own child?

"Hestia! Hestia!" Hestia wheeled around to see Yukino running towards her, worry etched on her face.

"Yukino-san!"

"Ah—Lisanna-sama!" Yukino noticed, coming to halt before her foster child. "You were here too?"

"Wha—oh, no, I just got here," Lisanna responded.

"Look at you, squirt! We can't take our eyes off you for one second, can we?" Orga lifted Hestia off her feet and sat her on his shoulder. The child yelped in surprise before it morphed into laughter, squeezing her bear plush closer to herself.

"Orga-san! Put me down!"

"No way, squirt. This way I know you're not wandering around, getting lost."

Lisanna felt out of place in this scene, like she was intruding. After the games, she knew that Sting promised to rebuild Sabertooth from the foundation. Lisanna imagined that they would still retain that ruthless streak drilled into them by their former master, but to see them caring for a child—her mind was blown away. Sting kept his promise after all.

She saw Rogue staring at her, making Lisanna slightly uncomfortable, though she tried not to show it. Then she realized that Rogue wasn't looking _at_ her—but _behind_ her. In the direction where Lucy left. Rogue cleared his throat, earning a questioning glance from Orga. The Shadow Dragon Slayer muttered something under his breath, making the Lightning God Slayer furrow his brow in concern.

"Squirt." Orga set Hestia back down next to Yukino. "Stay with Yukino, okay?"

"All right," Hestia conceded.

"Frosch, Lector," Rogue addressed. "Go with them. We'll be right behind you."

Lector saluted. "On it."

"Fro will, too."

The quartet set off first. Rogue glanced back where Lucy just left while Orga's eyes darted around, like he was searching for someone. Their behavior was too suspicious—and Lisanna couldn't keep quiet any longer. The first thing that came out of her mouth was: "How old is Hestia?"

The Sabertooth duo blinked and stared at her, like they only just remembered her presence. Lisanna originally meant to ask about Lucy—but the query of Hestia's age just slipped out of her mouth. From Hestia's appearance, she deduced that the girl was five. _She could just be Lucy's daughter from another man_, she reminded herself. _And even though Lucy survived, her unborn child couldn't have made it. Natsu injured her too much—_

"Seven and a half," Rogue said. Immediately afterwards, he berated himself mentally._ Why? Why didn't I lie?_ he thought furiously. He knew the Take Over mage was smart enough to deduce something, though he had hoped that Hestia's height would likely throw her off. But here he was now: he just gave away the most crucial variable in this ever-so-complicated equation.

Lisanna's eyes widened as she did the math. _Seven and a half years old...but seven and a half years ago..._ "Lucy..."

"What about her?" Orga asked this time.

"Why didn't she recognize me?" Lisanna knew they were hiding something from her, from Fairy Tail. And the answer walked away from them holding Yukino's hand.

Lucy was alive.

Hestia was Lucy's daughter.

Hestia was Natsu's daughter.

"Contrary to what you might think, we didn't force Lucy," Orga added. "She came to us of her own will."

_Of course she would_, Lisanna thought._ A woman on the edge of death with her unborn child...would want help no matter who it's from._

"Believe it or not...it's better if Lucy _didn't_ recognize you," Rogue interjected, turning on his heel. "Better yet, it's best that she doesn't remember Fairy Tail at all."

"Even Hestia?" Lisanna shot back. "It's best that Lucy doesn't remember her own daughter, her child with Natsu?"

Rogue stopped in his tracks, though he barely took five steps from her. He looked at her in mortification. "We never said whose child she was," he articulated slowly.

"You didn't," Lisanna agreed, holding her ground. Rogue's reaction to her question earlier gave her all the answers she needed to know.

Orga took a step towards her, like he was trying to intimidate her. But Lisanna held fast, meeting the eyes of the Lightning God Slayer. "You don't know a thing about them," he growled menacingly. "You don't know what we've done for Hestia and Lucy."

"Would that include keeping Natsu away from his own daughter?" Lisanna accused, her voice rising.

"Salamander is the reason Hestia and Lucy are with us. He has no right to them," Rogue joined in, scowling.

"He has every right to them!" Lisanna felt her blood bubbling with each passing second. "Hestia is his daughter! You can't keep him away from her!"

"We've kept her away from Fairy Tail for seven years," Orga pointed out. "I'd say we did a pretty good job so far."

"You can't keep her to yourselves forever," Lisanna stated firmly. "Fairy Tail will have something to say about this."

"Not if Sabertooth has something to say about_ that_," a new voice interrupted. Lisanna felt two hands clamp around her wrists, causing her to look at the culprits. On her right was Rufus, holding her left wrist was Sting.

"Why are you doing this?" Lisanna cried, struggling against her captors.

"We're attracting attention," Rogue warned. Indeed, a number of passersby were staring at them curiously.

"Lisanna Strauss," Rufus said, "you know too much."

"I won't tell, if that's what you're concerned about," she made up on the fly.

Rogue shook his head. "Lisanna Strauss..." He leaned closer to the Take Over mage until all she could focus on were his crimson eyes, dyed with anger and—pain? "Come with us if you want to live."

As soon as he pulled back and turned around, Lisanna was shivering in dread. His eyes seemed to scan her soul, reading innermost secrets, her darkest fears. Rufus and Sting dragged her forward until Lisanna remembered how to walk.

Little did they know that a red-haired knight and a dark-haired ice wizard witnessed what just went on.

* * *

"Natsu, are you sure you saw Lucy?" Happy asked, following his partner. It wasn't that he doubted Natsu; it's just that the prospect of Lucy being alive again seemed far-fetched.

"It was her, Happy," Natsu insisted, sniffing the air wildly. "She looked different...but it was her, all right."

Happy wanted to tell his partner that he was just seeing things—after all, they had seen the blood trail Lucy left from her injuries, and it led to a cliff by the ocean. Another sight caught his eye. "Eh? Lisanna has a harem?"

"What?" Natsu wheeled around to where Happy was staring. Rogue led the odd parade, while Rufus and Sting led Lisanna on either side of her. Finally, Orga trailed after them. The Take Over mage looked rather uncomfortable with them. "What's saber doing with Lisanna?"

"Beats me."

Natsu made his way towards the Sabertooth group and Lisanna, but several people blocked his path. He pushed past them, earning indignant cries and rude remarks as he did. He saw them enter an empty tent before Rogue closed the flaps. Natsu barely had a finger on the flap when a hand wrenched him back. "Hey—!"

"Shut it, Flamebrain!" Gray hissed as quietly as he could. He and Erza placed an ear on the canvas; luckily, they were on the more heavily shaded part of the tent, so they weren't likely to get caught. It all depended on Natsu, though.

"Let me in there! Lisanna could be hurt—!" Gray muffled Natsu by tying a cloth over his mouth.

"That should shut you up," Gray said coolly, dusting his hands off.

"Hey!" Gray spun around to meet a livid vendor holding fire tongs. "I hope you're going to pay for that fireproof bandana!"

"We're borrowing it. We'll give it back," Gray answered dismissively.

The vendor shook his head. "Oh no! I'm not taking back anything that has saliva on it! Now it's yours!"

Gray huffed impatiently. "How much?'

* * *

"W-w-wait! Y-you can't g-g-go in there!" The massive clown at the entrance of the tent stammered. "W-w-we ha-have t-to set u-up!"

"Stuff it, clowny! We need to use it just for a minute!" Sting barked, pulling Lisanna into the tent with them.

"B-bu-but—!"

Rogue poked his head out, an apologetic look on his face. "I apologize for my guild master's rudeness," he said before he closed the flaps.

"What was that for?!" Lisanna yelled as the blond wizards released her. "What makes you think you can just drag me wherever you want?"

"In my memories, you didn't seem to put up a fight," Rufus pointed out. Lisanna couldn't find an argument to that: point one for Sabertooth, zero for her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

Sting leaned against a table that just happened to be inside. Out of the blue, he clapped slowly. "You must be so proud of yourself now," he told her sardonically. "You just figured out the biggest secret we've kept from Fairy Tail for seven and a half years."

"It would've come out even if I didn't," Lisanna retorted.

Orga shrugged. "Didn't stop us from trying."

Lisanna shook her head in disagreement. "You can't do this. It's not right." A black spark of electricity crackled next to her arm, making Lisanna flinch in alarm. Everyone else in the tent looked at Orga, whose fingers pointed to Lisanna.

"Don't talk to us about what's right or not," Orga growled, taking a step towards her. Lisanna was truly afraid now, and Orga's greater height added onto that. "If what_ we're_ doing isn't right, then _Fairy Tail's_ actions are? Harming a pregnant woman? Leaving her to die with her unborn kid?" Lisanna's back touched the canvas of the tent; Orga towered over the Take Over mage. "Taking that kid away from the only family she's ever known, and into the arms of the people who ruined her mother?"

The rest of the Sabertooth wizards knew Orga had been in the guild longer than they had, which meant he was there before Hestia's birth. And the Lightning God Slayer was very attached to the Telekinetic child. Of course he would object to what Lisanna was implying.

Lisanna lowered her head in shame. No, it wasn't right. How Fairy Tail treated Lucy in the past wasn't right at all. And Lisanna didn't defend her until the next-to-last day of Lucy's career in Fairy Tail. "Even so..." she began sadly. "Natsu needs to know."

"There is something I should warn you about, Miss Strauss," Rufus interjected. "Natsu Dragneel may be her father by blood...but that does not mean he can immediately assimilate into Hestia's life."

"Huh?"

* * *

"We've heard enough." Erza dragged Gray and Natsu away with her, the latter finally managed to remove his fireproof gag. Happy could only fly after them. "Master needs to be informed of this."

"Erza, wait! Let me go! I'm gonna beat their asses!" Natsu roared, struggling against the hold Erza had on him.

"Forget it, Cigarette Butt," Gray shot. "There's four of them, three of us, and they have Lisanna."

"We beat them up once, didn't we?" Gray had to admit that Natsu had a point. The latter defeated the Twin Dragons, and Gray bested Rufus.

And now Natsu _and_ Gray were trying to rip themselves away from Erza. "Erza! Let us go!"

"No." Erza dragged her team mates away as she dwelt on the past, her wretched actions. "Before we can act...Master's judgement will help us decide."

"But Erza—!" The red-haired knight stopped in her tracks, radiating a demonic aura. She looked at them, glowering. "N-nothing!" Natsu and Gray squeaked. Happy sweated nervously. "A-aye..."

* * *

"Did something happen, Hestia?" Yukino asked. Hestia's silence since their temporary separation from the others wasn't normal; Hestia knew that they would be back.

"...mh..." Hestia hugged her bear plush closer to herself, looking down uncomfortably.

"C'mon, Hes," Lector encouraged. "No matter what happens, we won't get mad!"

"Fro says so, too!"

"..." Hestia brought her head back up, looking into the worried eyes of the Exceed and Yukino. If things were different, it would be Lucy looking at her like that. "...I...saw Mama."

Lector and Frosch exchanged a panicked look while Yukino's brow furrowed. Lucy and Hestia's case confused Yukino greatly. The silver-haired Celestial Spirit wizard couldn't imagine why Lucy would willingly forget her own child; Hestia did nothing wrong! "Did something bad happen?"

Hestia shook her head. "She asked...if my mother was here."

"And what did you say?" Lector inquired.

"I...I didn't want to lie to Mama," Hestia mumbled, burying half of her face in the doll. "So I said...she was here. And then...she asked if my mother wouldn't get worried."

* * *

"I've known Hestia since the day she was born," Orga said, walking away from Lisanna. The Take Over mage was highly tempted to sigh in relief. "And in the blink of an eye, seven and a half years have already passed."

"For the past several years," Sting continued, "we saw Hestia as a little sister, even a daughter to others. And Hestia has seen us as her family. We don't want to see her in pain."

"And we can't bear to see her cry again," Rogue concluded. "She's already given up her mother. But to force her to abandon the only family she's ever known...it would break her heart again."

* * *

Guilt ate at Yukino's insides; last year, she and Rogue were made Hestia's legal guardians, just for the sake of appearances. Practically nothing changed after that: Yukino and Rogue would go on separate jobs—and occasionally together—while some of the other members and Sting watched over her. They would occasionally play, but only when the three—or the four, if one included Frosch—went out together would the wizards act as if they were Hestia's guardians the whole time. Only then did it occur to Yukino what Hestia might have felt during the past year.

"Now, now! Please smile, little miss! You're too cute to be sad!" Hestia's ears perked at the voice as a black and silver blur flipped itself over the Sabertooth wizard and child and landed precariously on top of a metal barricade.

"Hey!" A smile painted itself on Hestia's face as she recognized the man. "You're from the water show!"

The silver-haired performer, while juggling several objects, grinned back at Hestia. "Right-o!" He turned his attention back to the objects he currently juggled. Somehow, he managed to give Yukino—"An apple for the young lady! A fish for the kitties!" he added, tossing two fish at Lector and Frosch.

"Mf—Fo wikes zis pherson!" Frosch mumbled happily as he devoured the fish.

"And what would you like, Hestia?" The performer asked as he bent down slowly, keeping his items in the air.

"Fish!" The Exceed exclaimed immediately.

Hestia tried to see what the items were, but they passed by too quickly for her to get a glimpse. The silver-haired man straightened his posture. "How about—this!" He tossed all of the unknown objects high into the air. "Monarch's Dream!" One by one, the items fell at Hestia's feet; each one exploded before the next landed. And from each broken orb, as Hestia could now see, a myriad of butterflies spiraled around her. Lector and Frosch gasped in awe as butterflies of assorted colors floated around the Telekinetic child until they flew away, a large moving veil in the sky.

"Wow!" Hestia clapped her hands. "So cool!"

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch cheered.

"I still need to work on the entrance, though," the performer muttered to himself, hopping off the barricade.

Yukino put the apple away in her own bag. "Can I ask for your name, sir?" She had no idea who this man was, yet he just made Hestia smile.

The silver-haired man bowed. "My name is Ross," he introduced, coming back up. "My colleagues, however, insist on calling me 'Rusty'."

"Rusty?" Yukino wondered.

"I suppose it is quite fitting," Ross admitted. "I am a bit _rusty_ on my magic."

Hestia shook her head in disagreement. "No way! Your magic is really cool!"

"It's just not as cool as Sting-kun's, though!" Lector added.

* * *

Lisanna nodded sadly, but in agreement. "You see?" Rogue said. "We've raised her in place of Lucy...but we still can't fill the hole she left behind. Taking her away would only make things worse."

"...I'm sorry," she murmured. "And...thank you." Lisanna bowed.

Rufus blinked in surprise. "Why are you thanking us?"

"For taking care of Lucy...and Hestia these past years. And for being there when we weren't." Lisanna got back up. "I won't say a word of this to anyone," she said, holding her pinkie finger out. Sting smiled as he pinkie swore with Lisanna.

"This moment has been recorded in my memories," Rufus noted, two fingers pressed to his temple. "Miss Strauss, you do realize what you have sworn yourself to. Should you go back on this—"

"I. Won't." Lisanna stated firmly.

* * *

A loud whistling noise made itself known to the world. "What's that?" Hestia asked.

"The fireworks show," Ross said. On cue, a red firework exploded in the sky. Yukino looked around until she found a digital clock post nearby. It read 8:30. _Has it already been that long?_ Yukino wondered in amazement.

"—best place to see the fireworks?" Lector questioned.

"The best viewpoint, huh?" Ross scratched his cheek. "I can take you there. This way, please!"

"Wha—oh!" Yukino felt Hestia pull her hand excitedly as they followed Ross over to a tall, flat chalet that was used as a zoo exhibit. He led them around the side where a flight of stairs traveled up to the roof. They climbed up to the top; the entire circus was visible as far as the eye could see.

Multitudes of fireworks exploded in rapid succession, awing Hestia and the Exceed. Ross, however, waved his hand. "This is nothing. Come back for the final day: that's when we go all out!"

* * *

Lisanna never felt a more tense atmosphere than this.

Natsu's face was pale green instead of changing through its various shades. Happy fidgeted in his seat, glancing from Erza to Lisanna. Gray gazed out the window, as if he were pondering something. Erza, however, sharpened her sword with a stone, much to the alarm of some passengers and a passing attendant.

"So Lisanna," Gray said casually. "What did Sabertooth want with you?"

Lisanna jumped. "How do you know I met Sabertooth?"

"We followed you," Erza informed bluntly, making Lisanna shiver. This woman was as much a stalker as Juvia was. "So tell us. We are your family. We shouldn't keep secrets from each other."

_But it's all right to drive a family member out of the guild?_ Lisanna wanted so badly to remark. "I asked about the girl who was with Yukino. She's her niece," she lied smoothly.

"Don't you mean—" Natsu sat up, fighting the effects of motion sickness. "—my daughter?"

Lisanna gaped at Natsu, then the rest of Team Natsu. "Y-you heard?"

"Every—" Erza moved the stone across her blade. "—word," she finished, holding her sharpened blade for inspection. Lisanna felt sweat gather on her palms. She sincerely hoped Erza wouldn't use that sword on her. The Take Over mage preferred to live to see her thirties; besides, Mirajane would murder Erza if she harmed her.

An announcement went off, informing the passengers of one of their stops, and anyone who needed to get off here should do so now. Gray looked out the window, staring at a pyramid-like structure in the distance. Lisanna dreaded the words that came out of his mouth.

"This is the town where Sabertooth is located."

* * *

**9:36 PM, Sabertooth**

"Take care, Lucy. And watch out for stalkers!" Sting added.

Lucy simply waved good-bye to her friend and guild master. "They won't even put a finger on me!" She was almost at the door when she noticed Yukino sitting by Rogue and Frosch. "Yukino!"

Yukino looked up from her conversation. "Lucy-sama?"

"How many times did I tell you that you didn't need to add _sama_? Just call me Lucy," Lucy reminded.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Lucy."

Lucy pouted. "You know, I'm really bummed out that I didn't get to meet your older sister today." Yukino froze, unsure of what to say to that. "But if you see her around...can you tell her she has a really cute daughter?"

Yukino winced inwardly. What was done to Lucy's memories wasn't right...but even Hestia agreed that it was best for her. Yukino wondered how much it scarred her to give up her own mother. "I'll try to remember," she replied. She watched Lucy exit the guild, closing the doors as quietly as she could so as not to disturb the others.

Lector and Frosch lifted their heads as soon the doors closed. "Is she gone?" Lector asked.

Sting tilted his head so that an ear pointed to the door. "...Yup."

Lector and Frosch flew up the stairs in haste; a minute later, they returned with Hestia following them down.

"Lector! Frosch!" Yukino cried, getting up.

"But it's a Saturday, Yukino-kun!" Lector whined.

"Hestia's supposed to be in bed!"

"But Sting said Hestia had to stay up there until Lucy was gone!" Frosch vouched. Yukino focused her eyes on Sting, who looked away nervously, whistling a tune while he was at it. This made some members nearby snicker.

"Like you don't have a little sister, Dobengal," Sting shot.

"She knows when to get herself to sleep. You, on the other hand—"

"I want her in bed by ten, all right?" Yukino called. Lector and Frosch were too busy to hear her. Yukino could only smile and concede as she sat back down, watching the child she was made the guardian of play with her Exceed friends.

"I'm proud of you," Rogue said abruptly, getting Yukino's attention. "You actually seemed like a mother earlier."

"Did I?" In reality, Yukino had no idea how to act like a mother. The most she did with Hestia was take her out clothes shopping, talk with her about her day, and the occasional walks to school.

Rogue merely nodded. "You must have some hidden maternal authority."

"..." Yukino rested her head on the table before her, deep in thought. Rogue noticed this and stopped what he was doing. "Is something wrong?"

"...No," she said, shaking her head. "It's a silly idea..."

Rogue set his book down. "Well," he began. "I've seen Sting challenge Orga to a drinking contest, only for it to end with the two ballet dancing and Orga singing better than he normally would had he been sober—" Sting hacked and sputtered in his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Most of the guild erupted in laughter, with the exception of the aforementioned mages and Lector, who could only look away while holding his own laughs. "—and may I add that Orga sang _opera_ that day?"

"You swore never to speak of it!" Sting and Orga roared from where they were.

Yukino covered her mouth as she remembered that ridiculous night months ago, in late March. "All right, you win," she chuckled lightly. "It's...unexpected...but...I've been considering...adopting Hestia."

Rogue looked at Yukino, then to Hestia. "...It's been almost a year since we were made her guardians," he agreed. "If we were to appear before the court, they would probably allow us to."

Yukino fiddled with her hands. "Yes...they would, wouldn't they? But...would it change anything?" Yukino pulled her head up from the table. "Ever since last year...was there even a moment when we _acted_ like her guardians? We'd go off on jobs while the others watched her for us. They took care of her because we couldn't spare a moment to do that! And now I want to adopt my friend's daughter, even though we know I won't always be there for her!"

Rogue remained silent through Yukino's confession. "You're one of the bravest people I know," he admitted. "Not many people can confess their wrongs like you did just now." He sat up and leaned closer to Yukino. "Lucy...wasn't there when Hestia _needed_ her most. Nor was she there when she _wanted_ her most. Do you know who was? The others." He motioned his head to the other members still hanging around. "They were there for her; they cared for her; and they raised her...when it was originally Lucy's job. I'm not saying that what Lucy did was the right thing. And I'm ashamed to say that we are doing the same. But...I think over the past several years...Hestia realized that we wouldn't always be there for her. But if you still want to consider adopting her...if you want to make this work...just know that it's all right if we can't always be there for her. We just need to be there when she needs us."

Yukino smiled as Rogue's words took their effect on her. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Hestia chased the Exceed, trying to reach for their tails. "Can't catch me!" Lector gloated.

The ground shook. Hestia stopped running while the Exceed stopped flying around. "...What was that?" Frosch asked.

"...An earthquake?" Yukino wondered, getting up from her seat.

"Can't be," Rufus disagreed. "We're nowhere near a fault line." But as he said this, the ground shook again, more violently this time. The chandelier swung overhead, making the people standing under it move away quickly.

Sting got up and approached the door slowly as if he were walking through a minefield instead. He listened carefully, eyes widening as he realized what this 'earthquake' really was. "Get away from the doors!" He yelled to the people near the entrance. As if on cue, the door broke from its hinges, sending splintering pieces everywhere. A large piece of the broken door headed straight for Hestia, who was too scared to move.

Rogue hit the ground, sliding across the floor and grabbing Hestia, pressing her to his chest protectively. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Hestia opened her mouth—"WHERE ARE THEY?!" They looked in the direction of the door; the sight that greeted them only made Rogue hold her closer.

There at the door, were three of the members of the strongest team in Fairy Tail: Team Natsu. Several Sabertooth mages lay around Gray's feet, encased in ice. Erza had hacked some poor victims with her sword. And their leader, the dense Fire Dragon himself, glared at Sting, fist flaming.

"Fairy Tail," Rufus breathed, mortified. "What are they doing here?"

"Give them back," Gray barked, putting his hands together.

Sting took a step towards Team Natsu, prepared to protect his guild. "What business do you have with us?"

Natsu pounded his fist against his hand. "Give me back Lucy—and my daughter!"

**How: Hestia was born around December, in X784. The year is now X792. I miscalculated and made Hestia the age she would become, not the age she really was.**


	10. Action

The guild hall hushed immediately. Only the flames surrounding Natsu's fist could be heard within the building. Most of the resident wizards of Sabertooth got up from their seats, prepared to go to war if the situation called for it. Some remained in their chairs but watched the scene closely, not wanting to miss a single detail.

Slowly, Sting smiled, albeit nervously. "You know...if you guys wanted to visit and hang out, we would have happily accommodated you," he said, hoping he had misheard Natsu. "You don't have to accuse us of things we didn't do to get our attention—" The young guild master of Sabertooth was cut off abruptly when Erza pressed the tip of her sword against his neck.

"With all due respect, Sting, this is no joke," Erza stated seriously. "We came for our comrade and her daughter, the girl in Rogue's arms."

A whimper went up, drawing all eyes to the person who made it. Rogue felt tiny hands tug at his shirt as Hestia buried her face in it. A shadow fell over the two; Orga moved himself in front of them, shielding the Dragon Slayer and his foster child from view. Everyone who remained sitting before pushed their chairs out and stood up, joining their comrades.

This time, Sting knew he heard correctly. "N-No, that's impossible," Rufus stammered, wringing his wrists. "You couldn't have known...unless—"

"Natsu, STOP!" Everyone looked at the ruined entrance; Lisanna ran across the threshold with Happy at her heels.

Sting's eyes widened in shock, before they narrowed into cold slits. "YOU!" he bellowed, pushing Erza aside—much to the shock of Team Natsu. No one swatted Erza away like a fly and lived to tell the tale.

Fully aware of the situation, Lisanna realized what conclusion Sting must have reached. "Wait, Sting, I—!"

"I should have known we couldn't trust you!" Sting yelled at her, held back from going at her by Rufus and Yukino. The two struggled to pull their guild master back; Sting was putting up a terrific fight. "Getting in on our biggest secret wasn't enough for you, was it? You just _had_ to tell them that badly, didn't you? Even Jason from Sorcerer Magazine could keep secrets better than you!"

"No! Sting, I swear it wasn't me!" Lisanna cried in panic. "I didn't tell them!"

"Who else could it have been?" Sting hissed. "Who else knew what _we_ told _you_?"

Sting felt the heat first, then the fist that pushed him back. The guild master crashed into one of the tables, which broke under his weight and from the impact at which he hit it.

"The nerve of him!" A Sabertooth wizard exclaimed. "He struck Sting!"

"Don't. Ever. Talk to Lisanna that way!" Natsu roared.

"Aye!" Happy yelled in agreement.

"Oh? But it's all right to call Lucy a liar who's desperate for money?" Orga challenged, taking a step forward. That was like a slap to the face for Natsu. The Fire Dragon Slayer took a step back in recoil, pain and regret in his eyes. "That's what I thought."

"Lisanna never told us a thing," Gray said. "Erza made us follow you guys." Rufus swore under his breath, cursing himself for not taking precautions for that one moment.

Sting got up, wiping his bruised cheek with the back of his gloved hand. "Even if you didn't tell them," he began, keeping eye contact with Lisanna, "that still doesn't change what your team's about to do. And it'll bring nothing but misery."

"Misery will only come to you," Erza deflected. "Lucy and her daughter will thank us for liberating them."

A derisive cackle escaped from Rufus, eliciting looks of astonishment from his guild. Not one person ever heard him laugh like that. The calm yet flamboyant Rufus Lore was known for being able to maintain his temper no matter what the situation. "'_Liberating_?'" he repeated. "You make it sound like they're livestock stripped of their freedom."

Erza gripped her sword. "How dare you compare them like that?"

"How dare _I_?" Rufus challenged, reaching for a steaming pot of tea and removing the lid. He smelled the aroma that wafted into the air. "No, no. The real question is how dare _you_? Lucy came to us of her own free will. Hestia was raised by this guild. You attacked our guild, and _you_ have the audacity to ask how dare _we_?"

Boiling hot jasmine tea splashed against Erza's face, her hair, and her armor. Everyone inside gaped at Rufus as he calmly set the empty silver teapot back down. The Memory-Make wizard never broke his eye contact with the seething Titania. "So we are the abductors when we saved Lucy and Hestia's lives, yet you consider yourselves the victims when it was your guild that caused her so much grief."

Sting would have applauded Rufus' boldness if the situation weren't so serious. Lisanna felt like cowering into a corner at this point; Rufus basically called Erza a hypocrite. And that was a dangerous move to make.

Orga turned his head slightly so he could see Rogue and Hestia behind him. The Lightning God Slayer met Rogue's eyes and motioned his head towards the stairs. His message couldn't have been any clearer: _Get Hestia away from here._

Rogue nodded in agreement. He got to his feet but searing pain that flared from his right leg made him fall back down.

With his enhanced sight, Natsu saw what just transpired behind Orga. "He's trying to get away!"

This snapped Gray and Erza out of their daze. Titania let out a battle cry as she charged towards Rufus. Her blade slashed his abdomen, but 'Rufus' flickered out of life. "What—?"

Rufus appeared behind Erza, his fingers pressed to his temples. "Memory-Make: Forge of Hephaestus!" The tile underneath Erza's feet darkened into obsidian black. Without warning, flames erupted from the black tile and consumed Erza in them. With the first spell cast, the rest of Sabertooth stormed into battle.

"Rogue, what's the hold up?" Orga barked, swiveling his head when he saw what impeded him: A piece of the broken door had lodged itself into Rogue's right thigh. It looked like a large splinter.

_How did I not see that?_ he thought. Rogue touched his leg tenderly, pulling back when he felt pain. "Rogue-san..." Hestia mumbled.

"...It's all right," he assured. Rogue gripped the splinter firmly and yanked it out quickly. The Shadow Dragon Slayer grimaced as blood oozed out of the wound profusely.

Natsu went straight for Rogue, leaping over Orga in the process. Rogue was highly tempted to swear in his current position, but remembered that Hestia was in his arms. He couldn't do a thing: his leg was injured.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" As soon as Natsu released his breath, he flew back against a wall on the opposite end of the hall. But the flames missed their intended target, instead striking the wall behind Rogue.

"What...what happened—?" Rogue looked at the child in his arms, whose eyes were focused on the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Hestia?"

The flames that engulfed Erza fanned out, revealing the Titania in her Flame Empress Armor. Looking at her targets, she drew her sword back as flames gathered around it. "Flame Slash!"

Some of the wizards prepared to defend themselves. "Out of the way!" A voice boomed from the back. Nearly all of Erza's opponents steered clear of the fire as it homed in on the only person in its path: a woman in an apron.

The woman's left hand glowed before a large frying pan appeared in her grasp. She held the pan vertically extended sidewards with the bottom pointed towards the flames. As soon as the fire touched the pan, they were sucked in until not even an ember was left.

"What?" Erza couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened.

Gray put his hands together. "Ice-Make—" Before another word could get out of his mouth, the frying pan-wielding woman swung her pan towards him like a tennis racket. The absorbed flames shot out of the pan, darting around several Sabertooth mages. Gray tried to keep up with the flame attack's erratic movements but failed as it nailed him in the back.

"What did you do?" Erza shouted at the woman.

"You idiot!" The woman held her frying pan the same way as before when she pointed it at Erza. "You can't be Sabertooth's head chef if you're afraid of fire!"

Natsu pulled himself off the wall and broke into a run when a large shape tackled him to the ground. The Fire Dragon Slayer struggled to get himself out from under Orga, who simply sat on Natsu's back.

"Open the Gate of the Scorpion! Gate of the Water Bearer! Scorpio! Aquarius!" Sabertooth's and Fairy Tail's ears perked at the familiar voice before they looked in the direction of the door once again. Even Lisanna and Happy watched their former Celestial Spirit wizard summon the duo.

Scorpio crossed his arms, doing his trademark hand sign. "We are ready for you, Lucy-sama!"

"Even though you interrupted our _date_," Aquarius grumbled, emphasizing the last word. "I suppose I _should_ be grateful you summoned us together. But next time, don't summon me through a _flower vase_."

"Damn," Sting, Orga, and Rufus swore simultaneously.

"Lucy!" Gray exclaimed. "Great timing! Think you can lend us a hand?"

Scorpio and Aquarius' eyes widened when they realized their opponents. "Fairy Tail..." Scorpio breathed.

Lucy's eyes narrowed at Gray, who had never seen such a cold look on her face before. "Why would I help you attack my guild?"

"But Luce, it's us! Your nakama!" Natsu shouted at the blonde woman.

To his surprise, Lucy laughed. "Either you're denser than they say or you're extremely drunk. There's no way I would ever be friends with irresponsible guys like you!"

"Lucy, please try to remember us!" Erza yelled this time while Requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "Sabertooth put you under a spell!"

At Erza's words, a slight headache overtook the blonde. Lucy put a hand to her head, a pained look of confusion on her beautiful face. "What—?"

A burst of light appeared behind Lucy as Loke opened his own gate. "Forgive me, Lucy!"

"Lo—" Loke jabbed a spot on his master's neck; Lucy's eyes widened before they drooped. Lucy felt drowsiness take over her body as she collapsed in Loke's arms. "—ke..."

"Damn it, Loke! Why would you do that!" Gray screamed at the lion spirit.

"Go already!" Loke barked at Aquarius and Scorpio, who were unsure of what to do with Fairy Tail as their opponent. "Lucy might be down, but her magic's still active!"

"But—!"

"Have you already forgotten...the pain that our master went through because of Fairy Tail?" Loke prompted. "The tears of grief that Lucy shed because of these bastards...and the abuse that her own daughter had to endure because of it? Have you forgotten how Lucy used you to hurt Hestia, Scorpio?" Scorpio grimaced; that day was not the proudest moment in the Scorpion's life. "If for nothing else, then that's what we should fight for."

"We...are ready to avenge our master!" Scorpio declared as he pointed his index and pinkie fingers at Team Natsu.

"...I follow no one's orders. But I have a nasty score to settle with these guys," Aquarius decided, raising her urn.

Loke smiled to himself as he dodged spells and mêlée fighters to reach Rufus. "Take care of Lucy," he said before rushing back to his fellow spirits.

"Loke, why are you doing this?" Natsu shouted at him. "We're your nakama!"

"We see no comrades," Scorpio said coolly, crouching down. "We see one irresponsible Fire Dragon Slayer—"

"A stripper who's far from his North Pole," Loke joined in, pulling his fist back as his ring shined brightly.

"And one ditsy redhead who smugly assumes that she's NEVER wrong," Aquarius sneered, raising her urn above her head.

Lisanna and Happy could hardly believe their ears. The Celestial Spirit trio had just blasted Team Natsu.

"If that is what you see us as, then we have no choice but to hurt you. Prepare yourselves!" Erza summoned her swords, all aimed at the spirits. "Don't hold back, guys!"

"Right!" Gray shot back as he prepared his best offensive spell. "Ice-Make Unlimited!" At once, he began to craft ice weapons at an impossible speed.

"Regulus Impact!"

"Sand Buster!"

"Water Beam!"

Gray swung his arms. "One Sided Chaotic Dance!"

Erza's swords flew at the oncoming attack by the Celestial Spirits along with Gray's weapon chain. But they stopped in midair for no reason. "What's going on?" Erza demanded as she tried to move her swords again. The weapons tried to advance but failed; it was like an invisible force field was keeping them from going any further.

Little did Erza know that behind her, a Telekinetic child had taken control of the Erza's weapons and Gray's ice. Hestia narrowed her eyes at the various weapons: combined, they were three times the weight of Orga but she had never taken control of so many items before.

Two forces struggled for control of the weapons; Erza was still fighting against Hestia's Telekinesis, though she didn't know who was countering her. The two narrowed their eyes in concentration, putting in every ounce of their magic.

The swords stopped moving; they just floated in the air, waiting. Erza wondered if she had won against the 'unknown' force. But Erza's swords and Gray's ice weapon chain turned against them all at once, blades gleaming in the light as they hacked and slashed at the Fairy Tail wizards.

"Fire Dragon's—" Natsu's body was engulfed in flames. "—Sword Horn!" He propelled himself forward, heading straight for the combined spells of the Celestial Spirits. But his flaming body stopped just before it met the onslaught; instead he flew backwards, striking his own team mates before all three were assaulted by the combined attacks. A large smoke cloud formed, spreading out to various parts of the guild.

"I thought Hes couldn't control fire," Sting pointed out, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Unless she wasn't aiming for the fire...but Salamander himself?" Rogue wondered out loud.

"But either way, Hes is really improving!" Lector boasted.

"Fro thinks so—" A small cough made itself known, cutting off the Exceed momentarily. "—too?"

Rogue looked at Hestia, who continued to cough uncontrollably. She made a retching noise after a violent cough, but it didn't stop there. The child buried her face in her foster father's jacket, hoping to muffle the noise. "Inhaler!" Rogue cried to Frosch and Lector. "She's having an attack!"

"Which one?" Lector asked while Frosch flew towards the bathroom as fast as he could.

"Blue one."

"Got it!" Frosch came back immediately with a blue inhaler in his paws.

Rogue watched in horror as a fireball made its way towards his Exceed from behind. "Frosch, watch out!"

"Huh?" Frosch turned around and saw the flame burst coming to him.

"No!"

Before the fireball could ever hit, Yukino grabbed Frosch out of the way. The fire grazed part of her leg, but the heat was enough to make the Celestial Spirit wizard yell out in pain. "Yukino!" Frosch cried, seeing some skin on her leg melted off.

"...I'm all right," Yukino murmured. "I really am. Don't worry."

The inhaler plummeted to earth but stopped an inch above the ground. On the wall beside it, the shadow of an extended hand had caught the inhaler's shadow. Rogue drew his arm back; his shadow followed his movement and the inhaler soared into his open hand.

Not wasting a moment, Rogue pulled off the cap and shook it for five seconds. Knowing that it hadn't been used for a week, he depressed the canister once. "Hestia," he urged, positioning the coughing child upright. "Open your mouth." He might as well have considered himself an idiot for saying that, as Hestia's coughing fit ensured that her mouth stayed open. But Rogue didn't want to force it in—what if he chipped a tooth?

Hestia opened her mouth wider, enabling Rogue to put it in easily. Her mouth instantly clamped around the mouthpiece. "Breathe slowly," he reminded as he depressed the canister again. Rogue watched her chest puff in as Hestia took in her medication.

_One, two, three, four, five._ "Hold it," he said, removing the inhaler.

Rufus looked around the guild hall, which now served as a battlefield. Even though Fairy Tail attacked first, he knew that he only added to the flame by throwing hot tea at Titania and into the fire. In all honesty, his stored rage towards them finally took control of him. His eyes wandered to Rogue and Yukino, who sat on the ground with injured legs; then to Hestia, who released her breath after several seconds. He looked at Team Natsu, who returned to their feet.

"Give up already, Fairy Tail!"

"Never!" Natsu stomped his foot against the cracked floor. "Not until we take back Lucy and my kid!"

Battle cries erupted from both sides as they charged once more—

"HOLD IT!"

Everyone skidded to a halt; Rufus made his way between the two sides. Clearing his throat, he continued, "As I have said before, Lucy came to us on her own. What makes you think she'll go with you without a fight?"

"We told you. She's our nakama," Erza said.

Rufus raised a skeptical eyebrow at this. "If I remember correctly, family is important to Fairy Tail?"

"Yes."

"So you would ruin another family just so you can have your old one back?" Erza felt like she had been slapped in the face, which was saying something. "Have you even considered what Lucy wants? She's an independent woman capable of making her own decisions, yet you would take away her choice of family. Doesn't that say something about Fairy Tail, the guild that places bonds in high regard?" A small snicker escaped from Sting, but Rogue hushed him. "Didn't her reaction towards you tell you her decision?"

"You put a spell on her, though," Erza countered.

Rufus simply shrugged. "Maybe we did...maybe we didn't. But I assure you, even if we didn't place this hypothetical spell on her...If you tried to take her back, she would go fighting and spitting."

"...if that is what Lucy wishes," Erza gave in bitterly. "But her daughter will come with us—"

"No way!" Sting yelled. "Like hell you're taking Hestia away!"

"She's my kid, too!" Natsu roared back.

"Like you know how to take care of a child!"

"I've taken care of Happy before!"

"B-but he's a _cat_," Lisanna mumbled. "A _human_ child is completely different."

"I'm sorry," Happy sweated.

Rufus looked at Hestia, who clung to Rogue, then at Natsu. In truth, the Memory-Make wizard always knew that this day would come. He just wanted to prolong it as much as possible. But now that the truth was out, Natsu wanted a part in his daughter's life. "...You are Hestia's birth father," he admitted slowly, choosing his words carefully. "And we have kept her from you for years. You have every right to her as her father. It wouldn't be right if we kept you away forever."

Rogue felt as though his life was strangled out of him; Hestia was squeezing his chest tightly, determined to hold on. "Rufus, what in the name of Zeref are you doing?" Rogue hissed.

"So I can take her with me?" Natsu questioned.

Rufus chuckled into his hand. "No, it isn't that simple, Salamander. If you want Hestia, you'll have to defeat us. Prove to us that you would fight for your daughter."

"A fight, is that it? No sweat!" Natsu pounded his fist against his hand. "We'll beat you at the Grand Magic Games like last year—"

"The Grand Magic Games?" Rufus repeated. "No, no. The festival is too small of an arena for this fight. And besides, you brought this fight to us. Isn't fair if we chose the arena this time?"

"Very well." Erza jabbed her sword into the tiled floor. "As an S-Class Wizard of Fairy Tail, I give you my word that, no matter where this battle takes place, we will fight you with all our might until you fall."

"I hope you can hold to that," he said, his fingers pressed to his temple.

"We will," Erza swore. "Now tell us the location of this fight."

"The Grand Magic Games will not be the setting for this dispute." Rufus smiled victoriously. He knew that no matter how strong Fairy Tail was physically and magically, they didn't have a fighting chance this time. "No, we'll take this battle—to court!"


	11. Veiled Darkness

As soon as the word _court_ left Rufus' mouth, the reactions were immediate.

Sabertooth howled and jeered at Team Natsu, some wizards even gave each other high-fives. And Team Natsu couldn't help but grimace at the predicament they got themselves into: it was well-known throughout the country of Fiore that Fairy Tail wasn't held in high regard by the court systems, due to the damages they made with each job they 'completed'. The Magic Council, for example, pulled their hair out in frustration whenever their name came up.

Happy scratched his head. "They're going to battle in the courtyard?"

"No, Happy," Lisanna said, shaking her head. "They're going to the court...of law."

"The law? Y-you mean like the Council?" Happy exclaimed.

"No way!" Natsu growled. "Fight us fairly, saber!"

"We _are_ fighting fairly," Rufus admonished. "We're sentient beings, not mindless barbarians. Hestia isn't a compliant spoil of war, she's a child who knows just what she wants."

Sting couldn't help but admire Rufus' cunning and his knowledge. The latter was explainable as Rufus was able to remember every detail with ease. But now, he was seeing a side of him that Rufus rarely showed. The Memory-Make wizard understood that despite Fairy Tail's popularity with the people, the law did not share those views. Fairy Tail had no chance! And the White Dragon Slayer wondered why Rufus wasn't the master of Sabertooth.

"Fight us at the Grand Magic Games so I can win her—"

"Hestia isn't a thing!" Sting screamed at Natsu. The sheer volume made Hestia cover her ears. "She's a child!"

"We are long past the era ruled by savages," Rufus agreed, keeping eye contact with Team Natsu. "Humans are no longer trophies won by blood. If you wish to fight for Hestia, you will do so in a civilized manner."

Erza pulled her sword out of the tile, pointing it at Rufus. "You knew," she accused. "You knew we wouldn't stand—"

"The entire _country_ knows about Fairy Tail," Rufus corrected. "What surprises them is how you haven't been tried for your actions yet. Is it because of the public? Is the kingdom afraid that the country will revolt if they allowed the Council to disband you?"

"I demand—"

"Demand what, Scarlet?" he spat, taking a step towards her. "Demand that I change the setting, just so you can win? Allow Hestia to be fought over at the Grand Magic Games, just to save your hides from the law for a while longer? If I recall correctly, you swore that, 'no matter where this battle takes place', you would fight us with all your might until we fell. Are you trying to go back on your word?"

"Gh..." Erza couldn't deny that she said those words, with Sabertooth and her team mates as witnesses. Natsu wanted Hestia, but if they went to court and Fairy Tail was disbanded instead...

"If you want to step down, feel free to do so," Rufus suggested. "If the skin on your back is more important, then we'll gladly allow you to leave this dispute."

Natsu, Gray, Lisanna, and Happy twitched, shocked that Rufus had the guts to call Erza a coward subtly. Even the masked man's guild was surprised by his behavior tonight.

"But if you wish to advance, then you may," Rufus continued. "You may set the date for the trial, and we will answer the call. But I should warn you..." He pointed to the ruined doorway and a hole in the wall made by Natsu's fire attack; then gestured towards Rogue and Yukino. "Storming into our guild, damaging our building as well as injuring our members—two who are also Hestia's current guardians—do you really think the court will view the Salamander as a suitable guardian for her? Do you really think that the law will take your side?"

Erza, as expected, did not take this well. "Must you always solve your problems with the sword?" Rufus sighed tiredly when Erza held it with both hands. "And I wonder why someone like you can be called the Fairy Queen."

"Rgh!" Erza sent her sword back to her pocket dimension. "Very well," she admitted grudgingly. "We will fight...and we will win!"

"Hell yeah we will!" Natsu agreed.

"Those are big words coming from a person who was just asking for an arena change," Rufus smirked.

There was silence as the two glowered at each other, neither side letting up. Finally, Erza wheeled around and made her way to the exit. She grabbed her team mates by their collars along the way. "Let's go, guys."

"But Erza—!"

"Enough, Natsu!" Erza looked at the Fire Dragon Slayer, who recently found out he was a father. "We can't fight them here. Not here...not now." With one last look at the opposing guild, the knight stormed out of the building, followed by Happy.

Natsu maneuvered himself so he could look behind himself. Already, Sting was giving orders to his subordinates. One of them returned with a first aid box while others helped some fallen comrades to their feet. He tried to get a look at his daughter, but the woman who called herself Sabertooth's head chef knelt in front of her, blocking her from view.

"Get them to the hospital. This isn't something we can take care of by ourselves," Sting ordered as two mages disinfected Rogue's wound and Yukino's burn. Both wizards winced as the painful sting of the medicine kicked in.

Lisanna chose this moment to approach the young guild master. "Sting—" Her words were cut short when Sting held up a hand to stop her. He pointed a finger behind her, refusing to look at her.

"Go," he said simply. "Leave...and don't ever show your face here again."

"But I—"

"It's best to do what Sting says, while he's still calm," Loke suggested abruptly, appearing by her side. The Lion Spirit led Lisanna to the ruined entrance and escorted her outside. Once he was far enough from the entrance, he let go of her wrist.

"Loke—"

"You shouldn't have probed," Loke scolded, giving her a disapproving look. "He was never supposed to know."

"Natsu had every right to know!" Lisanna cried in retaliation.

"Yes, and now he _wants_ every right to Hestia." Loke sighed exasperatedly, moving his hair out of his eyes. "Sting...most likely, he'll give Makarov a call in the morning. But in case he doesn't move immediately—especially when tomorrow's Sunday—tell Makarov...'Anthea'."

"'Anthea?'" Lisanna repeated.

Loke nodded. "He knows exactly what it means. Can you make sure to tell him, just in case Sting doesn't act?"

* * *

"Open your mouth," the chef said to Hestia, holding out an instrument that looked similar to Hestia's inhaler. But this device had a small digital screen, and the tube didn't curve like a pipe near the end. "Deep breath first."

Hestia took in as much air as she could before the chef put the open end of the instrument into her mouth. Immediately, Hestia blasted it out fast and hard. The female chef removed the device from Hestia's mouth, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"Is—is it bad?" Hestia asked.

"It was close, too." The head chef turned the instrument so that Hestia could read the screen. It read seventy-six percent, but suddenly rose up to seventy-nine before dropping to seventy-four. "You're not in the clear yet." She received Hestia's inhaler from Frosch. "One more time."

* * *

Already past eleven, the Minstrel Circus began to shut down after a successful opening day with the promise of a more profitable tomorrow. Flashing signs turned off, leaving only the light from the moon and the various caravans and trailers to illuminate the night.

The silhouette of a large clown could be seen entering the largest caravan in the circus. Inside the dark trailer, the outlines of five other people were seen sitting down in comfortable armchairs. Three were situated on the right in a line; the same number was arranged the same way, but the six seats were situated so that the occupants on either side could face each other. A seventh seat faced the entrance, but it was the farthest from the door.

"Please remove your shoes," a gentle woman's voice said from the row of chairs on the right side.

"O-oh, r-r-right," the clown stammered. He unlaced his shoes and placed them on a mat, occupied only by one other pair of shoes.

"Stop stammering, oaf," a gruff voice growled, causing the clown the flinch as he sat down on the only seat left in the right row, which was also the only other armchair large enough for him. The owner of said voice seemed to have a beard.

"Now, now, is that anyway to talk to your superior?" Another man on the right side chided. If one looked closely through the darkness, the man seemed to have horns on his head.

A third man's voice guffawed as he stroked his goatee. "Superior? Those two are the youngest of us all, yet they call themselves our superiors?"

"They are young in age," one more man spoke from the left side. "But even the young lady has been part of the guild longer than the fresh recruits that the two of you are, regardless of strength. Take note that you also take orders from a master who is as young as them." This comment elicited growls from the said fresh recruits at the same time the door to the caravan opened.

"Fighting already? Please, my cohorts, be nice to the new ones. Don't scare them off," a young man joked, shutting the door and taking off his shoes.

"You're late, _master_," the gruff man sneered as the young man sat down in the last seat. His position allowed him to look at all of his associates. "Surely, a guild master should be able to set a better example."

"Yes, and exactly what kind of examples did you set, you two?" the young master questioned. "You, who had your entire guild disbanded; and you, who ran away in disgrace. Your examples are questionable as well, aren't they?"

"Inconsiderate brat!"

"Please, let's be rational, gentlemen!" The only woman of the group cried as her guild master and the two newly recruited wizards shot out of their seats. "War is not the solution!"

"'War is not the solution'," the bearded man mimicked. "Yet you are a mage who would _help_ us wage war."

"You wish to bring peace, but peace does not truly exist," the man with the goatee joined in. "Where there is peace, there has been war."

The woman lowered her head slightly, as if she were contemplating. "Yes. That is correct. Then where there is war, there will be peace."

"And such peace cannot exist without sacrifice," the guild master agreed, nodding in her direction. He focused his direction on his new subordinates. "Gentlemen, let's sit down. How can we hope to advance our plans if we fight pointlessly among ourselves?" The man with the goatee snorted at the sheer irony. "Onto business, then. How is _that_ coming along?"

"Splendidly," the more behaved of the three on the left side relayed. "Yet the underlings need more equipment in order to unearth it, and we still lack sufficient funds for repairs."

"But we have all this money!" the goatee man whined. "Why can't we just take it all at once?"

"If a large sum of money disappeared all at once, surely, someone would notice. Think for once," the guild master scolded as he tapped his forehead. "We are part of a travelling circus—the most successful circus on the entire continent. And the amount of money we can take from the circus' profits depends on what it goes to. These past years, I managed to, er, _borrow_ a considerate amount of money by saying we needed maintenance repairs twice a year. It's completely understandable, and it's partly true."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"It's not supposed be fun, it's supposed to be safe."

"Even so, the funds are not enough."

"How much more, then?"


	12. Anthea

**Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas from Madam Facilier!**

**It took me everything I had to not post this chapter as soon as I had it typed up. Because this chapter is a gift from me for being good readers!**

Hestia woke up a little earlier than she usually would have liked on Sundays.

"Tia-kun, Tia-kun!"

"Wakey-wakey!"

Hestia hid under her blanket, grumbling, "Lee me 'lone."

"Tia-kun!" Lector whined, tugging at the blanket. "C'mon, breakfast call!"

"But it's warm..."

"Fro smells bacon and waffles," Frosch added, earning an approving nod from Lector.

In a flash, the blanket was tossed aside as Hestia jumped out of bed. _It's just a normal Sunday_, she thought to herself as she dressed out of her pajamas. _I just had a bad nightmare that fairy people were trying to take me away._

Hestia spun once before the mirror, the skirt of her light blue dress twirling with her. She tied her purple and white hair back, but her bangs hung in the front in a single curl. She had no idea why it did that, to be honest. But years back, whenever Orga took care of her, he'd twirl some tufts of her hair with one of his large fingers. Maybe that was why—nah, that couldn't be.

"C'mon, Tia-kun! Race you down!" Lector called as he opened the door and flew out.

_Yeah!_ Hestia thought as she closed the door to her dorm before running after her Exceed friends. _Nothing's wrong at all! We're gonna eat, and then play around!_ Lector and Frosch were waiting for her at the top of the stairs when one of their members raced up to them, out of breath.

"Sorry," he panted. "Can't go down, Hestia-kun."

"Why not?" Lector questioned.

"Busy rebuilding. Walls are being painted—and the smell! Safety hazard, so we're taking precautions."

Fro scratched his head in confusion. "But Tia-kun could wear a mask."

The man tapped his chin. "That could work."

"You're a genius, Fro!" Lector exclaimed before he flew back into Hestia's room.

"Fro's a genius!" Frosch agreed, flying around Hestia. Lector came back out with a small cloth mask similar to what doctors wore, but Hestia wore this especially during pollen season.

Lector adjusted the bands behind her ears, leaving Hestia to pull the mask up to cover her nose and mouth. "We're ready," Lector said.

The wizard nodded. "One more thing: you're eating outside today. Orders from Rietta herself."

The trio followed after the wizard, stepping carefully as if the stairs could give out any second. Once they reached the bottom, Hestia knew that last night hadn't been a nightmare like she had hoped.

Two wizards were installing a new door: one holding it in place, the other hammering in the nails. Another person had spread out a large cloth on the floor, with a bucket of paint next to them. Hestia watched others bring out new tables and chairs to replace the damaged ones.

She felt someone push her; looking behind herself, she saw that Frosch was nudging her forward. Lector tugged at her hand, urging her not to dwell on it too. Hestia allowed herself to be guided by Frosch and Lector while she looked at her feet.

"Tia-kun, cheer up! Rietta's making breakfast!" Lector tried as they made it to Sabertooth's outdoor café booth. Hestia climbed up onto the stool with ease, remaining silent even as she removed her mask and placed it in her pocket.

"And what do you guys want—Hestia?" The Telekinetic child lifted her head slightly to meet the concerned eyes of the head chef. "Something's wrong," she said immediately. "You're not this silent."

"She's been like this since we came down," Lector informed. The chef nodded in understanding.

"Rietta-san, can we have breakfast?" Frosch asked.

The head chef Rietta smiled, thinking that Hestia's silence would break once she saw her plate. "Coming right up!" she called as she retreated to the griddle. The Exceed sniffed the air as the scent of bacon wafted over, but Hestia didn't even lift her head. Rietta returned with three plates of eggs, bacon, and waffles. "One for you, one for you, and here's Hestia's!"

Hestia looked at her plate: on one waffle, her eggs and bacon were arranged to look like a smiley face. "Ha..." she laughed weakly.

Rietta frowned. "All right kid, talk."

"Rietta-san...is it my fault?" Hestia played around with her eggs. "Yukino-san and Rogue-san were hurt badly...the guild was damaged...and those people want to take me away."

"Hestia." Rietta placed her spatula down as she propped her head on her hands, her elbows on the table. "No one blames you for anything: we _chose_ to raise you, and we knew that this day would eventually come. But didn't the guild prove that they want to keep you? Rogue grabbed you out of harm's way last night; we all fought against Fairy Tail; and sometime during the middle of it, Frosch delivered your inhaler so you could breathe."

"Fro did," Frosch added between bites.

"See? Don't worry about us, Hestia. No matter what happens to us, we will never blame you."

"But...what about Mama?" Hestia interjected. "She...blamed me for everything. She didn't want me anymore."

"Now you may not believe me," Rietta began, "but your mother loved you. Right after she was finally allowed to bring you home, she showed you off to the entire guild. Said you were the cutest baby in the world. But once she changed, it wasn't because of _you._ It was because of _him_: the unspeakable four-letter word that is your birth father!" Rietta's entire demeanor changed as she swung a heavy frying pan around, causing Hestia and the Exceed to duck for their lives. "When I get my hands on him, I'll rip him a new one!"

"R-Rietta-san, calm down!" Hestia suggested.

"Fro says so too!"

Rietta blinked, looking at the frying pan in her hand. "Now how did that get there?" she murmured, making the trio sweat.

Hestia decided that eating her breakfast would be the best way to keep the chef from going off on her random outbursts. She wondered if all cooks were like that. "But there's absolutely no way we're gonna let those fairies take you away," Rietta continued as she flipped an egg. "Oh, no. I cooked for you once you started eating solids; Orga played with you practically everyday; and Rufus—can you read that book _after_ breakfast?" she barked as Rufus took small parts of his breakfast, focused more on the heavy volume before him.

The Memory-Make wizard didn't seem to hear her as he turned a page. "What are you reading anyway?" Rietta huffed angrily.

"The laws of Fiore," Rufus answered, a sly smile growing on his face. "Most likely, Fairy Tail will focus on child custody laws. Unfortunately for them, they'll need every law in their arsenal to win. Laws that they don't possess, I will memorize without fail."

"And the only way you'll accomplish that is by eating!" Rietta snatched the book away from Rufus, whose head snapped up as soon as the familiar text disappeared from his gaze. "That brain of yours can't run on an empty stomach, even if you can remember everything!"

"Give that book back, Rietta!"

"You can have it _after_ you've finished your plate," the chef insisted, placing the book on a shelf with other cookbooks.

"But—!" Rietta silenced him by shoving his barely eaten waffle in his open mouth. Rufus mumbled something incomprehensible; he was obviously miffed by her action.

"There," she said sweetly, dusting off her hands. "Was that so hard, Rufus Lore? Now don't shovel it all down. You'll get indigestion." Some nearby wizards roared with laughter while Rufus chewed his waffle slowly, never breaking eye contact with Rietta.

Note to self: Never cross the chef, especially in the morning.

"You know, that giant curl you have there reminds me of Delphione," Rietta noticed, holding Hestia's hair curl between her fingers. "Except Delphione's—" She curled in the opposite direction, meaning her left and Hestia's right. "—curls the other way. Of course, that was two years ago," she added, letting go of the curled bangs. "Wonder what she's like now. Leaving already, Sting?"

Sting got off of his stool. "Can't stay for long, Rietta. Gotta make a call."

Rietta nodded. "And make sure to ask the old coot exactly what kind of guild he's running!" she yelled after her guild master.

Taking a deep breath, Sting walked through the foyer over to his office, trying his best not to breathe in the paint fumes. _Honestly, someone should improve the smell!_ Sting thought as he opened the door to his office. Once he shut the door behind him, Sting released his breath. "Now, where is that thing?" he muttered to himself as he rummaged through his desk. "I swear, that thing hates me—aha!" he exclaimed triumphantly, holding up a Communication Lacrima.

Since it was not in use, Sting could see through the crystal ball. The young guild master lowered the Lacrima and approached a picture frame on the wall before him. It was taken one year ago, right after Sting became the leader of Sabertooth. There were six people and two Exceed: Sting was in the center, resting an arm on Rogue's head. One could see that Rogue was annoyed by this when he looked up, glowering at his best friend and new guild master. Lector stood on Sting's head, posing for the camera while Frosch fell off Rogue's shoulder. Yukino had her arms out to catch Frosch; Rufus, however, looked like he was trying to restore order—and at the time, he was. Orga towered over everyone, and Hestia sat on his shoulders, grinning widely.

Sting walked past the frame before that rather quickly, preferring not to look at the gruff and angry face of Jiemma. One of these days, he'd get off his butt and stow it away so he wouldn't get scared just by looking at a picture of the previous master. He stopped at a large frame that occupied the space before Jiemma's photo. This one was different from the other pictures, because it was the only one that was painted.

A woman in her mid-twenties smiled kindly back at him. Her rose pink hair was let down so two long locks hung beside her face. Apparently, those two locks were layered, as part of them branched off slightly. Over the top part of her plain white dress, a green shawl draped over her shoulders, covering most of her arms. A pink apron with a large pocket was tied around the skirt at her left hip, almost making it look like part of the dress itself. Covering her feet were pale pink ballet flats. In the painting, she was sitting down in an armchair, holding a pink-haired child in her lap. Those who were foreign to Sabertooth would guess that the two were mother and daughter, with the woman's pink eyes and the child's brown eyes being the only difference. But those who had been the guild for so long knew that it wasn't so.

"Lady Anthea..." Sting brushed the dust off of the base of the frame, wiping his hand on his pants. "If only you were here..."


	13. Liable

**Well guys, I have a few words to say to you as Madam Facilier:**

**Happy New Year! And enjoy the new chapter!**

**8:00 AM, Sunday, June 2**

Lisanna opened the doors to the guild carefully, in case a brawl was taking place. Then again, at this hour, there weren't enough people to start a fight. Strike that, the people that started the fights weren't awake yet, preferring to sleep in on this day.

"'Tell Makarov...'Anthea'. He knows exactly what it means.'" It was likely that Sting, who took up the responsibilities of guild master a year ago, had already informed Makarov of Team Natsu's actions last night. But Loke also hinted that Sting tended to move slowly on Sundays, like many other people. However, last night's events might have impacted Sting enough to make him act immediately.

Only one way to find out.

Mustering up her courage, Lisanna entered the building and made her way up to Master's office. But on her way, she couldn't help but catch snippets of other people's conversations.

"—had a kid together."

"Is that why Sabertooth hated our guts last year?"

"Don't forget all the other times."

"Lisanna!" The aforementioned girl looked in the direction of the voice. The petite blue-haired bookworm waved her over while Gajeel simply chewed on an iron bar. "Did you hear?" Levy asked.

"About...what?" Lisanna started sweating, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.

"Lu-chan's alive!" Lisanna's heart sank as her worst fears were confirmed. "And so is her daughter!"

"Can't believe Salamander actually had it in him to make a kid," Gajeel remarked, stuffing another metal chunk into his mouth. "But Bunny Girl alive...that's somethin'."

"I can't wait to see them!" Levy gushed, clasping her hands.

"Wh-when did you hear about this?" Lisanna asked shakily. _Oh, please tell me—_

"Salamander and his team," Gajeel answered, swallowing his metallic breakfast. "They're about to tell Master too."

Lisanna searched wildly around the guild until she found Team Natsu knocking on the door of Makarov's office. "No, no, no!" she cried, bolting towards them.

"...What's up with Lisanna?" Levy wondered. "It's almost like...she doesn't _want_ Lu-chan to come back."

* * *

"Hm..." Makarov sipped his tea slowly. "Something...something's not right," he murmured to himself. As if to prove his point, the surface of his drink rippled.

The door shook slightly as the person on the other side banged on it. "...Come in," Makarov said.

On cue, Team Natsu barged in. Just as Erza began to shut the door, Lisanna burst through, out of breath. "Master..." she panted, sitting down. "I...message from..."

"Master, Lucy's alive!" Happy blurted out. Makarov's hand froze before he lowered his cup. "She's at Sabertooth and—" Makarov held up his shaking free hand, stopping Happy's dialogue.

"Lisanna...what were you going to say?" the old man asked softly.

"Loke..." Lisanna began. "He told me to tell you...Anthea."

And that was Makarov's cue to drop his cup of tea. "Master!" Erza cried, getting up. "Are you all right?"

"Wait, what's an 'ant heya'?" Natsu wondered.

"No, Lisanna said 'Aunt Theia'," Happy said.

"...Anthea," Makarov repeated, his eyes filled with dread. "Are you sure that was what Loke said?"

Lisanna nodded slowly, not liking the fearful expression on Master's face. "He said you'd know what it meant."

"Master, we can't let Sabertooth get away with this," Erza argued.

"Yeah, they shouldn't!" Natsu agreed. "They must have put a spell on her! We gotta bring her back—"

"You will do no such thing!" Makarov boomed, alarming the wizards considerably. "Sabertooth did not abduct Lucy or her daughter," he continued. Lisanna blinked; they never mentioned Lucy's daughter. Unless Master overheard the story? "I asked Sabertooth to take them in."

* * *

**Sabertooth**

"Come on," Sting muttered, holding the Communication Lacrima. However, the Lacrima refused to contact Makarov. "Oh, so I can contact the rest of my guild, but not another guild master?" he said hotly. He opened a folder that contained his guild's expenses. "Where is that receipt? I swear I'm gonna refund this thing."

An envelope fell out from the folder. Sting frowned: he could have sworn that envelope wasn't there before. "Must have arrived yesterday," he concluded. He picked it up and read the back: the sender was the hospital where Hestia was born. "Hestia's hospital bill, huh? How much do we need to pay off this time?"

Sting remembered asking Orga once why Hestia was tiny compared to others in her age group. And Orga replied: "She was born too early."

Now, Sting understood that the NICU—the infants' equivalent of the ICU—focused a lot on early babies, and the bill was no joke. Sting remembered that he nearly keeled over the first time he saw the amount he had to pay off on Hestia's hospital bill, and that was when he just became guild master. Then Orga just _had_ to show Sting the very first statement from the hospital, making Sting faint.

Orga's explanation after Sting woke up: "She lived in the NICU for a year."

"Well, that makes complete sense!" Sting yelled at the time. "How in the name of Zeref did Lady Anthea and the old geezer _not_ faint from seeing this?"

"The hospital agreed to monthly payments," Rufus joined in back then. "With added interest."

Sting ripped open the envelope and unfolded the bill. Highlighted in bright green was the remaining amount that needed to be paid: 70,350 Jewels.

"...Not bad," he noted. "This time, I can pay it in full and finish it all off."

* * *

**Fairy Tail**

"You did WHAT!" Natsu roared at Master. Lisanna covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

"I knew all along...that Lucy was alive," Makarov informed them seriously. "But I wasn't aware of her daughter's survival until last year, right after Sabertooth changed hands."

"What the hell...you knew that we regretted what we did...and you never told us that Lucy was alive?" Gray hissed in frustration. "You never gave us the chance to apologize?"

"I acted on their best interests," the old man said.

"But what about ours?" Erza demanded, slamming her hands on Makarov's desk. Her shoulders shook as she forced the tears to stay in. "Master...when?"

Makarov sighed sadly. "Just a few hours after Lucy ran away from here as she hoped to survive the ordeal...I received a message from Sabertooth's master. At the time, the guild was small, and the master who kept it in order was a young woman by the name of Anthea. One of her members found Loke carrying Lucy in his arms as he asked for help." Lisanna gasped quietly, realizing why Loke asked her to deliver that message. "And I understood that Loke—though he summoned himself so he would not exhaust Lucy—spent too much time trying to get Lucy to a safe place to the point that he could no longer support himself in our world. Also, her member was an escort for Anthea, as she was always frail and sickly. Now that I look back on it, Anthea was quite young for a guild master," Master added, rubbing his chin. "Though Sting is a bit younger than her too—"

Lisanna cleared her throat, drawing Makarov out of his thoughts. "Lucy was delivered to the hospital, where the doctors not only saved her life, but her child's, too. It seemed like a miracle that such a tiny baby survived, but Lucy's child—yours, too, Natsu," Makarov added when Natsu opened his mouth, "wasn't expected to live up to a month. So I asked Anthea to take Lucy and her child under her wing. It was likely that Lucy didn't want to return to Fairy Tail," he pointed out, causing the members of Team Natsu to look down at their feet. "That was the first...and the last time I had contact with Anthea."

"What...happened to her, then?" Lisanna ventured.

Makarov bowed his head solemnly, causing her heart to fall. "She passed on," he said depressingly. "It was two years after our disappearance. Anthea was always ill, but what took her life in the end was the flu." He lifted his head. "After our seven-year absence, I was worried about whether or not Lucy was still at Sabertooth. My fears only grew after the first time I tried to contact Sabertooth."

"Why?" Gray asked.

"Because after Anthea died, Sabertooth was under the control of a man named Jiemma. He led his guild with an iron fist. The first time I tried to speak with him, he simply said that he wouldn't waste words with the leader of the weakest guild."

"You should have done something, then!" Natsu shot out of his chair, his hands threatening to burst into flames. "If their master said that, you should have gotten them out of there!"

"I couldn't do such a thing!" Makarov boomed. "Lucy was no longer part of our guild. I have no right to deprive her of her choices. As days turned to weeks, my fears kept increasing. After the Grand Magic Games, I decided to try again. Imagine how surprised I was to see that the face that greeted me was not Jiemma's, but Sting's."

"Idiot, he meant it rhetorically!" Gray yelled as a question mark appeared above Natsu's head.

"Sting was quite understanding and allowed me to explain myself. Once I explained the situation to Sting, he gave me the most astonishing news: Lucy's daughter had survived, and Hestia was now living safely with Rogue Cheney and Yukino Aguria as her guardians."

"Rogue and Yukino...but not with Lucy?" Erza questioned. Lisanna looked at her hands, knowing what had happened. And the thought of it made her want to cry.

"There were...complications," Makarov hesitated as he winced inside. "Sting asked if I wanted them back—"

"And did you?" Natsu asked eagerly.

"No," Makarov responded, making Natsu droop. "I told him I just wanted to check up on Lucy and Hestia." He smiled to himself. "It amazed me that the entirety of Sabertooth proved themselves capable of raising a child. Sometimes, I shudder to think of what might have been if Hestia was raised here," he muttered.

"Hey! We're not that bad!" Natsu, Gray, and Happy yelled all at once.

"They raised her wholeheartedly; paid for her expenses—even her hospital bill, which I understand is still being paid off slowly. Sting even admitted that while Hestia was in Jiemma's custody, he sneaked her out and taught her some...questionable tricks." Everyone's eyebrows went up at this comment. "I agreed not to say a word, so how is it that all four of you—"

"Five!" Happy added.

"—know about this?" Makarov finished, staring at each of them in turn.

"...I ran into Lucy and Hestia and figured it out," Lisanna admitted. "Then I promised not to tell."

"We—" Makarov held up a hand to stop Erza as his Communication Lacrima went off. Sting's face came into view.

"Hello, Sting," Makarov greeted. Natsu's head shot up at the mention of the other Dragon Slayer's name. "Is something wrong?"

Sting scratched his head. "Yeah, a lot. Did you know that our guild was attacked last night?"

Makarov's eyes widened in alarm while Team Natsu stared at each other in panic. Master wasn't going to be happy with them. Slowly, they began to back away. "Are your members all right? Do you know the culprits?" Master stared at Team Natsu as they were trying to retreat from the room. Immediately he used his Titan magic to block the doorway, cutting off their escape route. He had the sneaking suspicion that they knew something about the attack on Sabertooth.

"Most of us are good," Sting assured. "Except for Rogue and Yukino. Rogue's still recovering from the surgery they did on his leg to remove the splinters and Yukino should be out by noon."

"That's good," Master said, sighing in relief. "Hopefully they get better."

"And the culprits didn't bother to disguise themselves." Sting looked away sheepishly, as if what he would say next amused him. "Would you believe me if I told you they looked _a lot_ like some of your members?"

Makarov froze while his eyes went to Team Natsu and Lisanna, the former group sweating. "That is something," Makarov agreed, laughing nervously. "So tell me, how many were there?"

Sting paused for a second. "Three," he revealed after much thought. "A Fire Dragon Slayer, an ice mage with a strange stripping habit, and a red-haired knight. And one flying blue cat," he added. Lisanna blinked: last night Sting was furious with her, believing that she had revealed the truth to Team Natsu. Now he was defending her?

"You seemed to hesitate, Sting," Master noticed, glancing at Team Natsu—now sweating buckets. "Was there anyone else?"

The White Dragon Slayer shook his head. "Nope, just those three. They're the ones who did the fighting."

"I see." Master sat up in his chair. "I apologize for the damages my members caused your guild. I'll make sure they're reprimanded for their actions."

Sting waved his hand. "Nah, it's fine. I just have _one_ request though."

"Go ahead."

Sting cleared his throat and shifted around, as if he were uncrossing his feet. "Last night," he began, "your members seemed convinced that we had abducted Lucy and Hestia. It wasn't until after all the fighting that they agreed to let Lucy stay with us. But they demanded for Hestia to be turned over to them."

"I suspect many of you had something to say about that," Master guessed.

"Yeah," Sting agreed. "I mean, think of what Hestia might have been thinking. Three strangers, one being her birth father, attacking her family and wanting to take her away—really? But you know what Rufus said?" Sting leaned closer to the Lacrima. "He said he'd allow for them to fight for Hestia—in court." Master sputtered in disbelief as he hoped he heard incorrectly. "I know you guys aren't in the good books with the law. Personally, I have my doubts that Natsu would make a suitable guardian for Hestia."

"I-is that so?"

"Rufus allowed them to set the trial date, but you're their master. So if you're against this—" Sting shrugged. "—you can tell them to back off, and things don't have to go ugly. Honestly, I'd prefer if you didn't go through with this," he said. "Hestia's attached to this guild; it's been her home practically since she was born."

"...I understand. But Sting, perhaps Natsu feels that he wants to make up for his absence in Hestia's life. Why not just let Natsu visit Hestia from time to time?"

"...I'm fine with that," Sting said. "But for some reason, Natsu wants every right to Hestia. Ask him why he can't settle for visits."

"I'll converse with him on that matter," Makarov promised.

"One more thing!" Sting called as Master prepared to put the Communication Lacrima aside. "When Yukino and Rogue were admitted into the hospital, they mentioned Fairy Tail when they were asked what happened."

"And...what else?" Makarov Dreyar sweated, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

"I hate to tell you this, especially when you have your own guild finances to worry about. But—you are now liable for part of their hospital bills!" Master's jaw dropped, his face aghast. "You should be getting the statements by tomorrow, so brace yourself, Dreyar-san!" And with that, Sting ended the connection.

By now, everyone in Master's office knew they were in for it. The look on his face said it all.

"Uh...Master?" Happy probed. If only he knew what a mistake that was.

Outside of Master's office, everyone in the guild could hear him yelling at the top of his voice, "YOU BRATS ARE COSTING ME A FORTUNE!"


	14. Other Side

**Monday, June 3, 7:03 AM**

Rietta yawned as she grumbled about having to get up early while she flipped fish-shaped pancakes for Frosch and Lector. Of course, she didn't mind the pay she got for doing this, but she would have preferred Mondays off. They just didn't agree with her.

"Hey, can you two wake up Hestia?" Rietta asked the Exceed as they waited for their pancakes. "She's got school at nine and it takes nearly an hour on the train to get there."

"But we want breakfast, Rietta-san," Lector whined.

"Fro's hungry," Frosch said.

"If you come back with Hestia in five minutes, I should have all of your plates done," the head chef told them as she eased a pancake on Frosch's plate and did the same for Lector's. She looked up from her station and peered out of the little window before her to find the Exceed flying up the stairs. She grinned. "That's more like it."

* * *

In all honesty, Hestia didn't like Mondays. Every time the weekend rolled around the corner, she slept in, enjoying the extra hours of sleep. But every Monday, she had to return to her normal schedule of waking up early so she could eat breakfast, wash herself up, and catch the train in time to get to school by nine.

"Tia-kun!" On cue, her alarm clocks—Lector and Frosch—flew into her room, flying high above her like vultures. "Tia-kun!"

"...Too warm," Hestia mumbled, pulling her blanket around herself.

"Tia-kun has school," Frosch reminded, sitting down on her stomach.

"Don't wanna."

"Come on, it's only two more weeks!" Lector sat next to her head as he pulled at the blanket. "Plus, Rietta's making breakfast!"

"...why does school have to be far away?" Hestia sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Food's gonna get cold, come on!" Lector and Frosch urged her out of bed as all three descended towards the bar, where their breakfast waited.

At the same time, Sting took a seat by Lector. The young guild master was in a good mood today, as seen by the grin on his face. "Morning, everyone."

"You're elated today," Rietta noticed as she set to work on Sting's breakfast. "What's up, Sting?"

"Hes." Hestia looked up from her half-eaten plate. Sting ruffled her hair curl that protruded from the middle of her hairline. "Your hospital bill from years ago...it's finally done."

Lector hacked on his bacon. "Hes' bill? You mean the seventy-million Jewel bill that made you faint?"

"Exactly," Sting confirmed, retaining his smile.

* * *

"Books?"

"Check."

"Paper and pencil?"

"Check?"

"Backpack?"

"Yes."

"Money for the train, both to and back?"

"Got it."

"Mask and inhaler?"

"Yup!"

Lector crumpled up the checklist and tossed it into the nearest trash can while they waited for Hestia's train. Hestia held onto her ticket as she stood on her toes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the train.

It wasn't that the town where she lived with Sabertooth didn't have a school. It did, but when Hestia was ready to start her magic schooling, Jiemma had one thing to say about the resident school: "Too small."

Now Hestia supposed that he had a point as, at the time, the staff was so small—every kid in town wanted to be part of Sabertooth when they were older—Sabertooth wizards practically taught there full-time.

And Jiemma wanted her taught only by the best. True, Sabertooth reigned at the top for four years, making its subordinates qualified tutors for Hestia; but he wanted her to be properly educated as well. Besides, Hestia was already tutored by the guild mages whenever they had the spare time.

So that's how Hestia ended up going to another town to get her magical education. Starting from age five, Hestia woke up at seven, cleaned up and dressed in time for breakfast, arrived at the train station by seven forty-five to get her ticket, on the train by eight, and arrival at school fifteen minutes before nine. She would always be accompanied by a guild mage because she was too young to go alone.

"Here it comes," Frosch said as the train made its presence known with a screech. The doors slid open allowing them access on board.

"Was it usually this full?" Lector wondered out loud. The train seemed to be filled with more passengers than usual.

"There are some mages from guilds who are on jobs, or they just finished up," the conductor nearby informed. "It will be crowded, so you might have to share a compartment."

"There aren't any...from Fairy Tail, are there?" Hestia asked hesitantly.

The conductor shuddered. "Heavens, no. That was one station ago, thank goodness. The ones from last night were just horrid. One kept vomiting on the floor, another wouldn't keep his shirt on, and the redhead frightened away the other passengers with a sword she insisted on sharpening in public."

"Yeah, we get the picture," Lector said as the trio walked past the man as they searched for open seats. But just like the conductor described, many of the compartments were filled with people. It seemed that they would spend the rest of the ride wandering around the train until they came across an apparently empty compartment. Hestia and Frosch looked at each other before they sat down with Lector on one side.

"...mh..."

"Oh..." Lector mumbled. "Maybe it wasn't as empty as we thought." Sitting across from the trio was a sleeping preteen girl with short brown hair. Hestia couldn't help but take a closer look at the older girl. She looked so peaceful as she slept blissfully unaware of her surroundings. With every exhale, her bangs blew up. A crystalline prism pendant with curious designs on each of the four faces caught Hestia's eye, alerting the younger girl to the older girl's identity.

"Miss Fio?" Lector and Frosch's heads shot up as soon as that name left Hestia's mouth.

The older girl woke up at the sound of the name. Her brown eyes squinted from the harsh sunlight that poured in through the window before they focused on Hestia. "Miss Fio, right?" Hestia asked again, almost uncertainly.

It must have been correct, because the girl smiled at Hestia. "Morning, Hestia," Fio greeted. "Frosch, Lector."

"Hi, Fio," Frosch returned. Lector simply nodded as he watched her warily.

Fio was one of Hestia's favorite wizards outside of Sabertooth. And the younger girl admired her because Fio was also a Telekinesis user, along with some other types of magic. The first time Hestia saw her in battle, Fio nearly beat Bacchus of Quatro Cerberus with a spiraling ant-lion trap conjured with her Telekinesis.

"Are you on a job alone?" Hestia asked as the train sped past the mountains.

"No~ we just finished," Fio yawned widely and blinked several times. "Yuka-san and Toby went looking for the snack cart because the food at the town we were at was horrible, according to them."

"Oh."

"What about you, Hestia? You seem too young to ride alone."

"For your information, we're her chaperons!" Lector exclaimed indignantly. "And we're perfectly capable of escorting Tia-kun to school!"

"Fro says so too!"

"Right, I keep forgetting that you guys are part of Sabertooth," Fio recalled as she rubbed her forehead. "Sorry about that."

"Maybe if you spent more time not sleeping, you'd be more alert," Lector suggested.

"Lector!" Hestia cried. "Don't be mean to Miss Fio!"

"I have been trying to change my sleeping behavior but—" Fio removed her hand from her forehead to point a finger at herself. "I guess old habits die hard, don't they?" she laughed.

"..." Hestia was contemplating whether or not to ask Fio a certain question that decided to pop into her mind.

This didn't escape Fio's eye as the Lamia Scale mage noticed Hestia's expression. "Is something wrong?"

"...Miss Fio...You have a sibling, right? So..."

"Go ahead," Fio encouraged.

"What's it like...to have an older brother?" Hestia wondered. "I'm an only child, so...I was curious."

Fio tapped the side of her left cheek. "Well...I'm not sure if I'm the ideal person you want to ask, Hestia. After all, I grew up expected to follow in my brother's footsteps when he joined a guild, so I spent a couple of years in a boarding school that taught magic. That was the only other place for me back then. Our parents were dead, and our grandmother passed away soon after due to illness. I guess my brother did the only thing he could when he joined your guild. But that still didn't erase all those times he wasn't there when I needed him." That was Hestia's cue to regret having asked that question, now that she knew Fio's relationship with her brother was quite strained. "And when I went back to school after that, a lot of people there expected the best from me, since my brother was part of Sabertooth. But when I couldn't live up to their standards...well, I wasn't treated very nicely after that."

"Oh...I'm sorry," Hestia mumbled sadly.

"No, no," Fio cut in, though she had a strange look in her eye as she said that. "You were curious, so I wanted to answer your curiosity. It's not your fault."

"Is that why Platin is with you? He's protective of you, you know," Lector added.

Fio held her head, a slightly pained expression on her face. "Platin...he's like the brother figure I wanted whenever I was picked on in school. I resented my older brother, yes...but at the same time...I wanted him close by. But everyday I spent in school...he was never there. And then Platin came into the picture, and those bullies never put a finger on me again, unless they were real idiots," Fio added jokingly, making Lector and Frosch sweat comically.

"But what was your brother like...before all that?" Hestia inquired.

Fio smiled sadly. "He was...brave. Strong, too... he was fearless. I guess he changed quite a bit after he joined you guys. But...he has shown that he cares...in his own awkward way. Yet for some reason, he hates Yuka's guts," she noted.

"Ha ha..." Lector sweated. "I wonder why." In all honesty, the red Exceed could sort of see why that might be the case. Yuka's enormous eyebrows was on the list of possible reasons, and the fact that he was twice Fio's age.

The train screeched to a halt while the conductor announced that whoever needed to get off at the current location should do so, as the train was taking a fifteen minute break to board other passengers. "This is our stop," Lector said as he took to the air. "See you around, Fio."

"Bye, Miss Fio!" Hestia called as they left the girl to get over to Hestia's school.

* * *

"Bye, Tia-kun! See you at three!" Lector called to Hestia, who stood by the school gates.

Frosch waved his paw. "Tia-kun, bye!"

"Bye, Lector, Frosch!" She waved back to them as she walked into the school's boundaries.

"...Let's fly back home," Lector decided as he began to fly off.

"But the train is still there," Frosch pointed out, though he followed after his friend. "We could sit with Miss Fio."

"No!" Lector yelled, making Frosch flinch from the volume. Lector felt a surge of guilt as he reiterated, "I mean, home is just a few miles away, Frosch. We can make the trip."

"Does Lector not like Miss Fio?" Frosch asked. The question made Lector stop, as if that was the correct answer.

"...I don't _hate_ Fio," Lector corrected as he watched the train pull out of the station. "But her personality's..._random_. She's unpredictable...and she's dangerous like that. I know you and Hestia don't see her like that, but Fio just puts me on edge."

"Why?"

On the departing train, Fio had already gone back to her nap. But as her bangs fell over her eyes, she chuckled darkly. "...Too easy..." she said in her sleep, using that same evil tone.

"Fio!" Fio woke abruptly to see Yuka holding out a sandwich for her. "Sorry we took so long, but some fat lady tried to take our food from us."

"It was totally ours to begin with!" Toby yelled as he slid the door shut.

Fio sweated. "You guys didn't start a fight, did you?" she asked as she accepted the sandwich from the Wave.

"Because Fio has no idea that she's dangerous," Lector concluded as the train disappeared into the distance.


End file.
